Love Will Set You Free
by Laurette94
Summary: Simona Sforza has just started Hogwarts as a fifth-year when she gains the friendship of a young Severus Snape. Can she get him to change his mind about love, or is his heart doomed to belong to Lily forever? SS/OC 1st time FF! FOREVERMORE SEQUEL NOW OUT
1. New Beginnings

AN: Hey everyone, this is the first ever chapter of the first FF I have ever written! I really hope you enjoy it guys, I am pretty nervous to upload it. Apologies for the really bad chapter title, I promise they'll get better.. Reviews would be awesome, but don't be 'too' hard on me. I am but a human being *sniff* I'll try to upload as regularly as I can, but seeing as though I've just started College and I have some sadistic teachers, there 'may' be some gaps between uploads. Ohh ohh, cookies to anyone who gets my shameless Whitesnake reference for the title of this thing!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER ONE: NEW BEGINNINGS.

'10:59' the clock read. Simona breathed a sigh of relief, another minute and she would have missed the Hogwarts Express. Baggage following, she reluctantly stepped onto the train. The train was full of animated chatter and excited squeals as anticipation of the upcoming school year took a hold on many of the students- mainly first years. Simona understood the excitement, for it was her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry too. Her eyes fixed to the carpeted floor, she searched for an empty carriage, with no luck. Many of the students smirked at her, telling her to 'get lost' and mocking her appearance.

Simona had unruly, curly ebony-black hair that flowed past her shoulders. She usually just left it to its own accord. She had ice-white skin, almost translucent in some lights and large emerald-green eyes. Simona noticed they seemed to change colour, depending on her mood. Her eyes seemed to sparkle more if she was happy, and turned ash-black if she was angry. Simona liked to take advantage of her eyes, sometimes getting unnecessarily angry, just to see the reaction she got from other people. Simona also had wide, thick lips. This was usually the attraction of animosity she received from others, her lips were almost out of proportion to her face, and was a feature she disliked about herself. She also had a long upturned nose, which was stereotypically Italian. Simona was quite small, she was only 5"2 and very slim, almost wraith-like.

After several failed attempts to gain a seat in one of the carriages she got pretty irritated. She could feel her bright eyes darken significantly as she reached the final compartment. She decided that she would sit here, full or otherwise. Where else was she going to sit? She calmed herself down, making sure that her eyes went back to their original colour and went to open the compartment. Simona saw a dark figure in the corner, huddled into a large book entitled 'Advanced Potions; Grade V.' Simona cleared her throat to gain the figure's attention. Immediately a pair of charcoal-black eyes snapped up at her from behind a curtain of shoulder-length greasy black hair, lips thinning into a sneer.

"What, do you want?" The voice drawled. Simona stiffened; she had never heard such a short sentence said with such venom. She saw its eyes narrowing dangerously after she realised she had not replied.

"There is no room in any of the compartments." She said quietly, trying to avoid the piercing eyes staring at her in disgust. "I hoped that you would allow me to sit with you." She continued. Feeling the gaze soften minutely.

"Oh." The voice replied. "You'd better sit down then." Black eyes returning its attention back to the book. Simona put her suitcase into the overhead shelf and sat down, fiddling with her grey skirt that fell just above the knee. Her eyes gazed out of the window, she sighed as she saw the beautiful green countryside pass by.

Even though Simona was born and raised in Lucca, a small village in Florence, Italy she had moved to Queens, New York when she was 6 years old. Her parents wanted a new start, away from the prejudice they faced because of their magical background. Simona enjoyed living in New York and had picked up 'English' pretty quickly, although she struggled with writing in English and some of the slang words were lost on her. She also disguised her voice with an American accent, this made her more easily understood amongst other Americans. However, Simona missed the beautiful countryside of Italy, and appreciated the greenery England had to offer.

The compartment was filled with an awkward silence, even though she felt the figure in the corner did not appreciate her presence, she felt it was prudent to talk to it, she didn't know anybody on the train. She needed at least one person. Simona looked at the dark figure; it seemed engrossed in the book, as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.

"My name's Simona, Simona Sforza. What's yours?" She asked amicably, her mouth curling into a small smile. She extended her hand towards the figure. Once again the raven-black eyes snapped up at her, lowering the book down to its side.

"Snape, Severus Snape," the voice said with less venom. Not accepting the hand outreached towards them. Simona took this as a cue of rejection and quickly put her hand back down to her lap. She noticed a nasty looking bruise developing on Severus' jaw. He noticed her eyes studying it carefully and his hand flew up to cover it.

"Who gave you that bruise?" Simona inquired, frowning. His face once again formed a sneer.

"That's none of your business," he said hatefully. Simona closed her eyes, she wanted to be friendly to Severus, but felt she was in a losing battle.

"Sorry," she said quietly, her eyes travelling to the book beside Severus. "What's that book you're reading?" Severus sighed irritably.

"Advanced Potions; Grade V," he said shortly. "I'm in Fifth Year, you look a bit too old to be in First Year don't you?" He added, she tried not to smirk at his backhanded compliment, she could tell he didn't have much practice at such niceties.

"I am in Fifth Year too, I have only just started Hogwarts though," she replied softly. "It is a long story," she sighed. Severus raised an eyebrow at this; she sensed he wanted her to continue. "I was supposed to start the same year as you, but my parents were killed a couple of days before I was due to start. My adoptive parents decided that I should go to a muggle school and when I turned 13 they let me decide between muggle and magical school. Dumbledore was kind enough to let me start here as a fifth-year after all of the paperwork was cleared up," Severus' eyes widened.

"You're muggle born?" He said. Simona shook her head.

"Kind of, I am from a pure-blooded family, but my adoptive parents are both muggles. So I guess you could say I am a bit of both," Severus nodded in understanding. "Is there anything wrong with that?" She said, hoping that he didn't hold any prejudicial views against muggles.

"No, it's just..." he started and his eyes lowered to the ground.

"Your friends?" She asked, noticing the Slytherin patch on his robes. Simona knew that a lot of students that were in Slytherin were pure-bloods who felt they were superior over half-bloods, muggle-borns and especially muggles themselves. Severus nodded in response. She pouted slightly, Severus had this ice-cold exterior to him, even though she had only shared a compartment with him for 10 minutes it was obvious. But she could sense vulnerability in him, a need for others. If only Simona could get Severus to show vulnerability towards her, she knew that he would soften to her, perhaps become friendly with her. Severus noticed that Simona was deep in thought and his piercing eyes met hers.

"My bruise," he said, regaining her attention. "..I recieved from a dunderhead in Gryffindor. He's called Sirius Black," the venom returning to his voice, he began rubbing his bruise. Simona's brows furrowed.

"Does it hurt?" She asked sympathetically, leaning forward. Severus looked startled and leaned back in his seat, trying to get as far away as possible from her. He was clearly not used to anyone behaving respectably towards him, especially not a girl.

"No," he lied, he shifted his robes nervously. Simona knew that he was putting on a false sense of bravado. She saw right through him. She tilted her head at him, half amusedly.

"Well as long as you got that Gryffindor back. That is a nasty looking bruise," she said, a ghost of smile appearing on her face. Severus smirked, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, she noticed how pleasant he looked when he smiled, she realised he probably liked how she referred to Sirius.

"I didn't get him back, I'm biding my time," Severus said; an attempt at humor. Simona laughed at this, he looked at her green eyes, suddenly sparkling with amusement. Their eyes locked for a second before Severus looked away, a soft pink forming high in his cheekbones. "Where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound familiar." He inquired.

"I am originally from Florence in Italy, but I moved to New York when I was 6. My adoptive parents decided to move to England a couple of months ago so I could start here in September," She said amicably. Severus met her gaze, but once again broke it off after a few seconds. Simona didn't know why Severus kept doing this, she thought perhaps he wanted to know if her talking to him was a trick. She felt a lone-wolf vibe from him. "What?" she asked after a few minutes of silence and more of Severus' failed attempts at maintaining eye contact.

"It's just you're very..." he faltered, pink returning to his cheekbones. His eyes flickered to hers for a second, noticing the questioning look she returned to him. He swallowed thickly, trying to regain the ability to speak and almost a minute later he was able to finish his sentence. "It doesn't matter." Simona tilted her head. She would press him for an answer later.

"Oh, okay," She sighed, her eyes gazing back out of the window, it was getting dark now and the once bright-green trees and sweeping hills had now turned grey, alongside the ever darkening night-sky. "Will we be at Hogwarts any time soon?" she asked, curiously.

"Yes, we should arrive in about 10 minutes," he replied shortly, beginning to put his book into a small, brown tattered suitcase with almost surgical precision. Severus then began to bring down an owl cage, containing a vibrant-black owl which tried to peck at his fingers. Severus jumped back in fright, almost dropping the cage and cursed under his breath. Simona watched him curiously. She knew that most witches and wizards had familiars, but had never got one for herself. Her parents used to have a ginger cat, which they called Fiona, but it died when Simona was 5.

The train journey had come to an end and as Severus and Simona went to step out of the compartment four smirking figures blocked the door. Severus' once even-expression disintegrated into a venomous scowl, his eyes narrowing into slits and his mouth pressed in a thin line. Simona saw the Gryffindor patches on their robes and realised one of them must be Sirius Black, the one who gave Severus his bruise. A tall figure with above-shoulder length brown hair with mud brown eyes stepped forward.

"Who have you got there Snivellus, not got her under the imperius curse have you?" He mocked, the other figures burst into laughter. Simona assumed he was Sirius. Severus growled in response, Simona turned to look at him, his eyes, if possible, darkened. Her eyes furrowed in sympathy and looked back towards the four figures and smirked.

"And who are you?" Simona asked, not wanting to give away the fact she did actually know who he was. Sirius' face broke out into a smug grin, he moved even closer towards Simona, towering over her, putting his hand above her onto the glass frame. Simona backed away slightly, almost falling into Severus who let out a surprised yelp and cursed quietly, she must have stepped on his toe. "What, what are you doing?" She faltered, alarmed by Sirius' sudden advancement.

"The name's Sirius, Sirius Black. Remember my name, you'll be writing it all over your notebook later," Sirius barked with laughter and the rest of the figures collapsed into fits of giggles. Simona's eyes widened in disgust. Severus growled again, and smoothed down his robes. "What's wrong Snivellus, jealous of mine and.. what's your name, gorgeous?" He stepped forward again, his sneering face towering over Simona's small frame, she was blushing lightly, but her eyes were darkening in anger.

"Her name's Simona, and I advise you leave her alone," Severus spat, pushing Simona back and standing in front of her, he was slightly taller than Sirius, his eyes narrowing into slits. Simona was shocked that he so readily defended her, she barely knew him after all. Severus' sudden injection caused Sirius and the figures to burst into laughter once more. Simona likened them to hyenas.

"What's with the sudden bout of bravery, Snivellus? I didn't think Slytherins knew how to have a backbone, they usually just hide in the corner, like cowards," Sirius said mockingly, a twisted smile appearing on his mouth. Severus' face darkened at this, Simona could tell this comment hurt him. She saw his hands curl into fists, in an attempt to restrain his anger. Severus didn't respond. "That's right, all of that chivalry goes away when confronted doesn't it Snivellus? Now if you don't mind I was talking to Sarah..Simona," he smirked, turning to Simona raising an eyebrow and looking her up and down. Simona groaned in disgust, she thought he was a complete pig.

"Come on Sirius, let Snivellus talk to his pretty new friend while he can, he'll probably be too busy playing with his Chemistry set by the end of the week to even bother with her," a figure stood behind Sirius smirked. He had dark brown messy hair, rounded glasses with light brown eyes which narrowed as he looked at Severus.

Severus inhaled sharply and his hand flew into his pocket, he was reaching for his wand. At the same time 5 more hands reached into their pockets. Simona was the quickest to react and her ebony wand pointed threateningly at Sirius. Severus' wand also pointed at Sirius, the wands belonging to the 4 Gryffindors pointed at Severus too. Before any curses could be thrown, the train came to a jolting halt, causing Simona and Severus to almost fall onto the seats behind them, the 4 Gryffindors disappeared off the train before Severus could grab at his wand again.

Accompanied by Severus, Simona got off the train and headed towards the carriages, she exclaimed in shock as she noticed two bony, horse-like creatures pulling the carriages. Severus told her, rather curtly that these creatures were called 'Thestrals' and could only be seen by people who had experienced death. Severus also told her that he could see them too. His mother had died when he was young.

As they climbed onto a carriage, they noticed strange stares from other students. They tended to furrow their brows in confusion, Simona guessed that it was because Severus rarely socialised with anyone. He seemed to be quite irritable as they discussed random aspects of Hogwarts; Simona thought it may have been because she asked quite a lot of questions. She was curious after all.

After about 10 minutes they had arrived at the front gates of Hogwarts, it was a marvelous sight, a large castle, well-lit with candles under a clear nights sky. She gasped in awe. It was beautiful. They stepped off of the carriages and made their way up a long, winding path that drew up to the large, wooden gates of Hogwarts. Severus' thin mouth curled into a smile, Simona arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"What is it?" She asked, bemused. Severus looked at her and sighed, trying not to laugh. Simona smiled back, and laughed quietly, she still didn't know the cause of his amusement. "What?" She asked again, not that she didn't enjoy seeing him smile, but she did want to know why. Severus shook his head and let out a small bark of laughter, his obsidian eyes sparkling slightly.

"You're acting like such a first-year." He finally let out. Simona laughed, blushing lightly. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Well I am a first-year, sort of." She replied. "I've never seen Hogwarts before, only from what I have heard from you and from passing the carriages. My parents went to 'Firenze Scuola di streghe e maghi' or, 'Florence's school of witches and wizards', it sounds better in Italian." She added, smiling slightly at the memory of her parents. Severus nodded curtly.

As they got to the end of the path, an old woman with a pointed green hat and checkered robes scowled at the crowd forming outside the entrance. Her gray hair pulled back into a tight bun, piercing blue eyes, scanning the audience. "Is a Miss Sforza here?" She said strictly, the crowd looked at each other, trying to find Simona. Simona stepped forward and raised her hand.

"I'm Simona, professor." She said politely, smiling weakly at the scowling woman. Simona looked back at Severus who stared back coldly, as if a mask had formed on his face. She smiled at him and walked towards the professor. Who motioned her hand towards the door.

"Ah, Miss Sforza, if you'd like to come with me please. The rest of you, make your way to the Great Hall at once." She said cooly. Simona had to almost run to keep up with the professor's striding steps. She led Simona down corridors and eventually met up with another group of students at the top of a set of stairs. Simona noticed they must be first-years, judging by their nervous expressions, robes without house badges and excited chatter. They stopped however, when they noticed Simona and the professor's entrance. Simona climbed down a couple of steps so that she would blend in with the crowd. The strict-looking professor cleared her throat.

"Welcome first-years, in a few moments you will pass through these doors." She motioned to a pair of great-wooden doors, not too dissimilar to those at Hogwarts' entrance. "And you will be sorted into one of four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." She said briskly, her pale-blue eyes resting disdainfully on Simona as she mentioned the last house. "As you progress through the year, you will earn points for your house for doing good deeds such as answering correct questions in class, and going above and beyond your duty as a student. You will also however, lose points for your house if you misbehave." She continued. "At the end of the year, the house earning the most points will win the elusive House Cup. Some of you may know that I am the Head of House for Gryffindor, and we have not won the cup for 3 years, I wish that this losing streak will not continue" She added, her mouth tweaking up at the side in an attempt at humour. A small murmur of polite laughter rang through the students. Simona smiled politely. "Now if you would like to follow me." The professor announced.

As Simona walked into the hall, her eyes widened as she noticed the ceiling, it was lit brightly with candles which were suspended in the air, the ceiling was bewitched to mimic the night sky, she pondered. 4 long rows of tables were spread out in the hall, a lot of the students already sat at the table scanned interestedly at the incoming students, they had black-pointed hats on their heads and were dressed in their school robes.

Simona looked to the far-left of the hall where the Slytherins were sat. She craned her neck to see if she could spot Severus, but in doing so, she accidentally bumped into the student in front of her, causing a line of students to trip and fall. It was almost like a game of dominoes had unveiled in front of her very eyes, a roar of laughter ripped out throughout the hall as the rest of the first-years tried to re-gain their balance and dignity. Luckily, Simona herself had not fallen, but because she was the cause of such a large collision, her high cheekbones flashed beetroot red in embarrassment. Most of the laughter seemed to be coming from the Slytherin table.

After a full minute, the students had stopped laughing. Simona's eyes snapped to the floor in front of her as she felt 20+ angry glares pierce the back of her neck. She looked up however, when she heard the female professor start to talk. "When your name is called, sit on the stool and when the Sorting Hat has put you into your house, sit at the corresponding table." Simona's eyes looked to a tattered, brown hat that was precariously placed on a small wooden stool. It had to have been hundreds of years old. She half-expected it to fall to pieces as soon as it was touched.

"Alderson, Kate." The strict professor announced, a small blonde girl with brown eyes nervously approached the stool and as she sat down, and the sorting hat was placed on her head, the hat suddenly came to life. Simona exclaimed in surprise, receiving a few strange glances from the first-years surrounding her.

"Ah, yes, I see talent in you, but a fierce sense of loyalty. GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled, Kate smiled in relief and skipped towards the Gryffindor table, to tumultuous amounts of applause.

Simona shifted nervously. Even though she didn't fit a lot of the characteristics of a typical Slytherin, she did however have some qualities of a Slytherin student. She was pure-blooded and a sense of determination like no other. She absolutely loathed coming second. She once 'accidentally' blew up a chess table when she lost to her adopted father. He understood that she was a witch of course, but wasn't too pleased about the hole in the carpet that was made because of her fiery temper.

After a few more students were sorted into their houses, the majority of them in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, it was Simona's turn. Simona reluctantly sat on the stool and wished that she would be placed into Slytherin. She felt the sorting hat being placed on her head and had the strange sensation of worm wriggling in her brain.

"Ah, hum. Where to put you, where to put you? You're very intelligent, so Ravenclaw would be a good fit for you." The sorting hat mused, Simona's eyes opened in shock. She knew Ravenclaw was a good house, but she desperately wanted to be in the same house as Severus. "You want to be put into Slytherin eh?" The sorting hat retorted. Simona's head nodded slowly, she knew that pretty much the whole hall could hear what the hat was saying. She blushed furiously. "Well that's something I forgot to consider. Your steely determination and temperament does suit you to Slytherin quite well. Okay then, if you're sure... SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat exclaimed. The Slytherin table erupted with applause. Simona smiled shyly as she made her way over to the table, she noticed a few glares, particularly from members of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

Simona went to sit with the rest of the new Slytherins, but noticed Severus sat with a couple of other fifth-years. She sat down next to him and beamed. "That was a close one, those Ravenclaws seem really annoyed." She laughed glancing at the still glaring Ravenclaws. Severus nodded in response and looked to the other fifth-years. They looked back at Simona with a confused expression. She smiled at them, extending her hand. "I am Simona, I am actually a fifth-year too, but it is a long story." She said lightly, the two fifth-years didn't accept her hand. Perhaps it was a typical trait of Slytherin people. She nodded and looked awkwardly down at the table. The awkward silence between the four of them was broken by Professor Dumbledore addressing the hall.

"Welcome to all first-years to the start of what I believe to be one of the best years here at Hogwarts." He beamed. Professor Dumbledore was a tall man, with long white hair, and a beard that he eccentrically tied in a series of 'pony-like-tails' he was dressed in midnight-blue robes decorated with pale-yellow stars, with a matching pointy hat. Simona mused that he looked a lot like Merlin, and tried not to scoff in amusement.

"He says that every year." Severus said sarcastically, the other 2 fifth years nodding in response. Simona smirked. Dumbledore continued to speak with a glint in his powder-blue eyes. "Dumbledore seems to have a relentless amount of optimism, old git." Severus sneered, the fifth years snorted with laughter and Simona looked at him with an arched brow, this was a change to she shy and only slightly-sarcastic Severus Simona had met on the train. He seemed ruder, and venomous. Perhaps this is what Severus is like among his friends, she wondered.

"I'm Evan Rosier." One of the fifth years said with a smirk. He had short spiked brown hair, a long thin face and dark brown eyes. Simona could tell that he was deciding whether or not to like her. She smiled politely though, and told him it was nice to meet him. He nodded in response to this.

"I'm Avery." The other fifth year interjected curtly. He had silver hair, and piercing blue eyes that scanned for any imperfections. Simona got an unpleasant vibe from him. "So what's your background, Sforza?" He sneered unpleasantly, Simona knew that he was not-so-subtly asking her whether or not she was muggle-born.

"I'm a pure-blood, if that's what you're asking." Simona replied shortly, she didn't like the fact that many Slytherins held this superior view to muggle-borns. "My father was a Sforza, my mother a Moretti. Satisfied?" She continued with an arched brow. Taken aback by her curtness, Avery and Evan nodded with widened eyes. Severus was thoroughly amused by this, and snorted with laughter.

"Welcome to Slytherin." Avery added after an awkward silence. Simona nodded, and started to pile food onto her plate. Severus tried not to laugh even more at how well she could silence Avery and Rosier. He had never before come across someone who could do so. He rather enjoyed the silence, he didn't care much for idle chatter.

At the end of dinner, the students began to file out of the hall to go to their respective common rooms. Simona walked with Severus down to the dungeons, where the Slytherin dormitories lay. Simona smirked at this, 'figures' she thought. As they finished going down the winding stone steps that led to Slytherin, Simona shivered as she adapted to the dramatic drop in temperature. Severus noticed this and smirked.

"You get used to the coldness after a while. I'd send for some extra blankets and thicker robes if I were you." He replied dryly, Simona scoffed. However, it was a good idea, and made a mental note to owl her adoptive parents and request the blankets and robes. Even though her adopted parents were muggles, they were quite well adjusted to the wizarding world. They were fascinated by it. Simona felt lucky actually, not a lot of muggle-born students had understanding parents.

"After you." Severus said silkily and allowed Simona to enter the common room. She gawped at the beautiful interior of the green silk couches, the green and silver paintings that hung on the wall, and the fire that seemed to do nothing for the coldness in the dungeons. There were emerald green rugs spread out across the stone floor and an ebony black table in front of the couches. "Your room should be on the fifth set of stairs to the right." Severus said, interrupting Simona's chain of thought. "I'll come with you, mine are on the same floor but to the left." He continued. Simona smiled and nodded as she followed him up the stairs.

"Who was that professor that led me and the first-years into the hall? She never told us her name." Simona asked, she found it strange that she never introduced herself. Severus looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"That would have been Professor McGonagall. Transfiguration teacher, and Gryffindor Head of House. Don't expect her to like you very much." Severus replied sarcastically. "She tries not to show it, but she does tend to favour her precious Gryffindors." He continued, adding air quotes. Simona snorted at this, and Severus looked at her in confusion. Perhaps he didn't know that Simona found his relentless sarcasm amusing.

As they got to the top of the stairs Simona walked towards an ebony door that read;

Sforza, Simona

Black, Bellatrix

Theodore, Rachel

Ryan, Vicky

"Well that's me then I guess." Simona turned to Severus and pointed at the sign. Severus winced.

"I'd watch out for Bellatrix if I were you, she is a bit of a case." Severus said, his brows furrowing. Simona tilted her head, not knowing what he meant.

"I will. Goodnight Severus." She beamed at him, her emerald eyes sparkling. Severus blushed and nodded.

"Goodnight Simona." He muttered as she closed the door behind her.

AN: So guys, that was my first chapter! Like I said, I hope you enjoyed it, I've almost finished chapter 2, (With an even crummier title) so hopefully I will upload it in the next few days! Don't forget to review! :)


	2. Welcome To The Jungle

AN: Yeaahh buddy, I got a bit excited about uploading my first chapter, so I thought I'd post this the day after. Thank you sososo much for the reviews I've recieved, I'm so glad they've been positive. Thanks for spotting my rather dunderheaded mistake kittyprettypryde, I guess I was under the confundus charm whilst I was writing that chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I was a bit afraid to upload it, I hope it matches the standard of my first one!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER TWO; WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Reluctantly, Simona entered her dorm room. She immediately noticed a set of large mud-brown eyes staring at her at the far-left corner of the room. They belonged to a petite figure perched on the edge of their bed, with a shock of black hair, crimped and out of control. Much like Simona's hair, but perhaps a bit more 'crazy' she was pale-skinned and gaunt looking, perhaps another characteristic of Slytherin students. 'i_ronic_' Simona thought, because most Slytherin students were pure-blood, they were likely to be wealthy, she didn't expect to find many Slytherins to be so pale and 'under-fed'.

There were four single poster beds furnished in ebony, with tacky green and silver curtains, with a similar patterned bed-spread. Simona's uniform was already laid out on a dark brown chair next to a bedside table. It seemed to only be marginally warmer than the rest of the dungeons. Simona went to sit on her bed when she felt she was being watched.

"Hiya, I'm Vicky," came a small voice from behind Simona, she turned to see a red-haired girl, taller than Simona with light blue eyes that sparkled with sincerity. Her hand extended towards Simona. She was smiling genuinely at Simona was taken aback by her kindness, even though she had not come across many Slytherins yet, she knew they were infamous for their unkindness. Simona smiled back, albeit a bit eagerly and shook her hand.

"Hello Vicky, I am Simona. I've just started here, but I am a fifth-year like you," Simona said politely. Vicky nodded and smiled.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm sure you will settle in just fine. This is Rachel," Vicky said brightly, looking towards a brunette girl with freckles and black-eyes who nodded in acknowledgement, a smile that never reached her eyes, her eyes contained a sense of sadness. Simona smiled at her, and mouthed hello. "And this is Bellatrix," Vicky continued, looking at the girl with the crimped, crazy hair, who stared at Simona with a crazed expression. She didn't smile, or nod her head, but just continued staring. Simona shuffled her feet uncomfortably. She disliked Bellatrix's piercing glare. It was the same analysing stare she received from Avery during dinner.

"Thank you, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to get some rest. All that food has made me sleepy," Simona smiled lazily, yawning and stretching her arms. Her yawn caught her by surprise; she wasn't too tired a few moments ago. Vicky nodded brightly and said goodnight. Bellatrix continued to stare and Rachel just nodded. Simona got unchanged after she drew her curtains around her bed. Thankful for the privacy they gave her.

As Simona settled into her duvet, she sighed contently as she gently fell asleep. Her thoughts drifting out of her mind, not knowing that she was at the forefront of another's thoughts.

Simona woke up when she heard a quiet voice call her name from outside her curtains. After a few seconds, she realised it must have been Vicky, none of the other girls had spoken to Simona yet. Simona eventually sat up and opened the curtains surrounding her bed and looked up to find Vicky beaming down at her.

"Morning Simona, breakfast starts in about 20 minutes, so just get ready and I'll meet you in the common room in 15 minutes?" Vicky asked brightly. Simona nodded, still half-asleep. As much as Simona appreciated Vicky's kindness, she felt it was a bit too much at 7:10 in the morning. Dragging herself out of bed, she quickly changed magically into her Slytherin robes and brushed her teeth. After returning from the bathroom, she started on what felt was a gargantuan task; combing her hair into a tame state. After 5 minutes of knots, and eyes brimming with tears of pain, she gave up, pulling her hair back into a messy bun, leaving scraps of hair framing her face.

Pulling on her robes, she yawned as she slumped down the stairs to the common room, seeing Vicky standing at the foot of the stairs grinning widely at her, her red-hair in a high-ponytail. Simona gave the common room a quick glance and saw Severus standing in front of one of the couches clutching a large book and scowling.

"Hiya Simona, are you ready for breakfast, I'm starved!" Vicky grinned, rubbing her stomach for emphasis. Simona nodded politely, her mind still boggling with how happy she was.

"Could you wait a second, Vicky?" Simona asked politely, looking towards Severus again, his scowl still present on his face. "I've just noticed my friend," Vicky nodded, rather violently and smiled broadly. Simona walked towards Severus, and he looked down at his feet shyly.

"Hey, Severus," she smiled; Severus looked up at her, his black eyes narrowed with suspicion. _'Why is she still talking to me,_' he wondered. He rarely had anyone talk to him, especially someone who didn't have an ulterior motive, usually to get help for homework, or to taunt him. "What's wrong?" She asked, suddenly concerned at his narrowed eyes.

"Why do you care?" He asked, a bit more harshly than he originally planned. Simona's features flashed with hurt before she pursed her lips. He internally cursed himself, why did he always upset people like that?

"You just look a bit down is all," she replied, shrugging her bony shoulders and looking towards Vicky, who had her head tilted in confusion. "Do you want to go get some breakfast, I was planning on going with Vicky, but to be honest I would rather go with you," Simona said amicably, as much as she liked Vicky's unrelenting kindness, it was starting to grate on her nerves a bit. Severus didn't respond, his black eyes boring into hers, void of emotion. Simona became uncomfortable under his gaze. "I can go if you want," Simona continued. Perhaps he was uncomfortable around her, it looked like to her that he didn't want her there.

"No," he said softly, barely loud enough for Simona to hear. She smiled warmly at him, causing Severus to blush slightly, he looked at the floor, avoiding her sparkling gaze. "We can go to the Hall," he said slightly louder, his eyes slowly coming up to meet hers.

"I'll be back in a second, I'm just telling Vicky I'm having going to the Hall with you." She said walking off towards Vicky. Severus watched Simona as she talked to Vicky, Vicky's eyes turning to Severus with a raised eyebrow, shrugging and waving Simona off. Simona walked back to Severus and beamed at him.

"Ready?" She asked, nodding towards the door. Severus nodded shyly in return, he guessed he would have to get used to Simona's determination in getting him to talk to her. Not that he minded, but it was rare for Severus to socialise and to sit with someone he had only known for a day. They walked towards the Great Hall in companionable silence, Simona stopping to smile at different portraits that hung on the walls of Hogwarts School. He guessed that she wasn't used to seeing the moving images in these portraits, he had to stop himself smirking at Simona when she full-on gawped at a portrait of a blinking eye.

As they reached the hall, a lot of the students were already seated, they were either chatting happily, or shoveling food down their throats. Simona likened this to feeding time at the zoo, and snorted quietly with laughter. Causing Severus to look at her with a raised eyebrow, Simona shook her head and pointed to an empty space at the Slytherin table.

When they sat down, a professor with balding hair, a pot-belly stomach and dressed in musty green robes that smelt quite strongly of moth balls, with a graduate's cap placed precariously on his head was handing out sheets of parchment to the Slytherin students.

"Who's that?" Simona asked, pointing to the professor. Who was now chatting animatedly to one of the students, laughing loudly at some bad jokes.

"That's Professor Slughorn, head of Slytherin and Potions teacher. He tends to have his favourites too, but from all four of the houses. They tend to be students who have famous family, or have a talent for potions. He throws parties all of the time. We call it the 'Slug Club'," Severus sneered, Simona smirked at this, wondering whether or not Severus was in this illustrious club.

"Are you in the Slug Club?" Simona asked, still smirking. Severus sighed and nodded. Simona barked with laughter and began to pile up her plate with sausages, toast, tomatoes and eggs.

As Professor Slughorn approached Simona he gasped.

"Not, _the_ Simona Sforza is it, daughter of Adriana and Patrizio Sforza?" He asked dramatically, rousing a few students from their conversations to peer at Slughorn. Simona's face flushed red and nodded. "Wow, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Sforza, here is your timetable," Slughorn blushed, handing her a pale green parchment. He quickly handed Severus his, who snatched it out of his hands, sneering unpleasantly. Simona studied her timetable, ignoring Slughorn's comment.

Her parents were known muggle-empathisers, they preferred to wear muggle garb, rather than robes. They listened to muggle music, especially that of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix. A trait that was passed down to Simona. Her parents were from prestigious pure-blooded backgrounds, and their families didn't take too kindly to their views on muggles. They were both disowned from their families when they got married, and when Simona was 11, they were killed by pure-blood supremacists. Simona's parents were given an honourable funeral by the wizarding community, and after Dumbledore heard about her parent's bravery, allowed her to enter Hogwarts when her adopted parents allowed it. Her parents were not so well known around pure-blood circles after their death, as they were desperate to keep their 'treachery' a secret. Simona was surprised none of the Slytherins had picked up on her last name, but was glad of it at the same time. She didn't want to receive any trouble, especially not straight away!

Simona sighed lost in her thoughts. Eventually her train of thought went back to her timetable. She had double Potions first. Even though she had only ever studied Potions at home and from a textbook, she could tell that double anything, first thing in the morning is never a good thing. After memorising what she had on Monday, she put her timetable down and looked at Severus, who was scowling at his timetable, perhaps he didn't like the prospect of having double potions in the morning either.

"What have you got today?" Simona asked, trying to catch a peek at Severus' timetable.

"Double Potions, Transfiguration, Defense against the Dark Arts and Ancient Runes," Severus said curtly. "What about you?" He asked, a little more amicably.

"The same, but I have Muggle Studies instead of Ancient Runes," Simona smiled back, Severus looked a bit taken aback, it was pretty much unheard of for a Slytherin to be taking Muggle Studies, as many Slytherins simply refused to learn about any other way of life than the Wizarding World. "What?" Simona asked as she saw Severus' perplexed expression.

"Nothing, it's just rare to see a Slytherin interested in Muggles," Severus shrugged. Simona smirked at this, she quite liked the idea of being one of the only Slytherins doing Muggle Studies. "And don't you have a bit of an unfair advantage over some of the other students. You live with muggles, how very… Slytherin of you," Severus added, smirking slightly, Simona laughed quietly.

"I see you've stumbled across my true intentions," Simona said with a crooked smile. Severus' mouth curled up in a more pronounced smirk.

It was coming to the end of breakfast, and getting close to Simona's first lesson at Hogwarts. After once again peering at her timetable, she folded it into the pocket of her robes and set off with a reluctant Severus down into the dungeons for her Potions lesson. After Slughorn's dramatic outburst earlier, she wasn't looking forward to it.

AN: So I hope you liked that, ay-ay-ay, I know it's a bit short, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter, promise! Cookies again to the person who recognises my shameless chapter title, I know, I need a good ol' dose of originality, maybe there's a potion for that? Thanks for the reviews once again, and more are of course welcome! I won't keep you waiting too long for the next chapter, I'm working on it as we speak! :)


	3. Lily Evans The Peacemaker

AN: Hey guys, I've been itching to submit this chapter all day, damn college! Thank you so much for the reviews, they make me smile and encourage me to keep on writing. They have been so supportive. I know kittyprettypryde wanted me to introduce Lily and more of the Marauders, so I have done. I hope I've written Lily properly. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER THREE; LILLY EVANS; THE PEACEMAKER

As Severus and Simona descended into the dungeons, Simona felt the temperature drop. '_I have got to get used to that'_she thought. At the bottom of the spiral stairs lay a corridor with several wooden doors. Outside one of them, third year students were queuing up, ready to enter the classroom. Simona, accompanied by Severus joined the back of the Slytherin queue. On the other side of the door was the Gryffindor line. Simona spotted Sirius leering at her, sighing in exasperation Simona turned to look at Severus who was looked surly back at Sirius.

"Come in, come in. Welcome back fifth-years!" Professor Slughorn boomed as he bounced down the corridor, his graduate cap threatening to fall off his balding head. The students began to file into the classroom and take their seats.

Simona sat at the back with Severus and looked around the room. The potions room was large, spacious with blinding amounts of light filtering through the windows. Two of the walls were covered with large pine bookcases, which were full of an assortment of potions books. Sinks were located at the back of the classroom with various cauldrons and cupboards that were hung on flimsy, rusting hooks. Professor Slughorn pretty much skipped to the front of the class and sharply turned, he then began writing on the blackboard 'Pepperup Potion' in curly cursive.

"Now, today you'll be brewing the Pepperup potion. Can anyone tell me the effects of this potion?" Slughorn asked brightly, his eyes scanning the sea of gormless faces. "Miss Evans, surely you could tell me the answer?" Slughorn asked, after 30 seconds of awkward silence he began to sound desperate.

"Invented by Glover Hipworth, the Pepperup potion cures the common cold. It tends to cause steam to come out of the drinker's ears for up to several hours after it is consumed," said a voice from the front of the classroom. Simona snorted.

"Know-it-all," she mumbled absentmindedly doodling in her new notebook. Severus' black eyes snapped up at her, a sneer forming on his lips. "What is wrong with you?" Simona whispered, not understanding his sudden change in demeanour.

"Lily Evans is not a know-it-all. She's a very talented Potions student," Severus snapped back belligerently, his hands curling into fists. Simona, taken aback by his aggressive defence of a Gryffindor looked down back at her notebook in discomfort. Feeling it was unwise to challenge his cantankerous mood any further.

"I've written the instructions on the board, they are also in your textbooks, page 23. All of the ingredients should be at the back in the store cupboard. The best brew by the end of the lesson will receive 15 points for their house. Good luck!" Professor Slughorn instructed, waving his arms around for dramatic effect. "Miss Sforza, if I could talk to you for a minute." Slughorn added, motioning for Simona to walk over to him. Simona got out of her chair reluctantly and walked towards the front of the classroom. "Pray, sit Miss Sforza." He said, pointing at a chair and sitting at his desk. Simona complied, wondering what he wanted to talk about with her. "I understand that you have only just joined us this year, do you have any practical experience of Potions?"

"No, professor I have read the books though. My parents did not allow me to brew potions at home," Simona said politely. Her adopted parents were interested in the books Simona had been sent by Hogwarts in preparation for her start in September, but they drew the line at allowing her to create the potions from the textbook. Her adoptive mother, as kind as she was, was reluctant to clean up any of the messes Simona may have caused.

"I'm relieved you have read up on the theory Miss Sforza, but for the mean time I'd like you to pair up with Miss Evans, she is an exceptional potions student who will bring you up to speed rather quickly," Professor Slughorn said, nodding at Lily who was busily chopping up and adding ingredients to the Pepperup potion. Simona looked at Severus, who was also adding ingredients to the potion with precision, his eyes oddly focused on Lily. Why was he staring at her? And his sudden burst of anger directed towards Simona after she made a comment about Lily. Something was up, and Simona, as curious as she was, wanted to know what was going on. "Miss Sforza, is that acceptable?" Professor Slughorn asked, snapping Simona out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" Simona asked, her eyes focusing back on Slughorn who had a raised brow in confusion. "Oh right, sorry professor, I was a million miles away, yes of course that is fine. Shall I approach her now?" Simona continued, remembering what Slughorn had just told her. Slughorn nodded slowly, still concerned with Simona's sudden lapse in concentration.

"Very well Miss Sforza, you may go talk to Miss Evans," Slughorn replied, waving his hand. Simona bowed her head and apprehensively approached the table where Lily was busy slaving away over her cauldron. After nervously clearing her throat, trying to gain Lily's attention, a pair of vibrant green eyes, hiding behind a curtain of shiny auburn hair looked up to see Simona shifting her feet uncomfortably.

"Oh hello, can I help you?" Lily asked politely, gently putting down her stirring rod and giving Simona her full attention. Simona slowly looked up and smiled minutely.

"Hello, Professor Slughorn said that if it's okay that you would help me in Potions. I have only just started at Hogwarts and well, I have no practical potions experience. He said you were the best in the class. And that you could bring me up to speed," Simona said hurriedly, reciting Professor Slughorn's words, breathing a sigh of relief after she finished. She felt that if she didn't come out with it straight away, she would have forgotten what Slughorn had told her. Lily raised a brow in amusement at the speed in which Simona spoke to her.

"Really, he said that?" Lily inquired, Simona nodded in response. Lily raised both eyebrows in shock, and went back to stirring her ingredients, adding powdered bicorn horn. "Well I'm Lily, if you want to just grab a stool and I'll tell you what I'm doing, and some basic potion brewing," Lily smiled, Simona nodded in response and sat next to Lily as she continued to stir the potion, noting its change in colour from a muddy brown to a healthy green. Simona quickly glanced into her textbook and noticed it was the correct colour. "So this is the Pepperup potion, I'm heating the cauldron at about 200 degrees Celsius, that tends to be the optimum temperature to brew potions. I've already added the chopped mandrake root, which adds the kick to the potion. The powdered bicorn horn creates the steam and clears the sinuses. All that needs to be done now is just to keep an eye on the potion, and if it goes a deep purple colour, it means it needs to be stirred more. Do you want to do that?" Lily asked, handing the rod to Simona, who nodded again. '_Merlin, that girl knows what she's talking about_' Simona thought, watching the potion as it started to turn purple. Simona quickly stirred the potion carefully until it changed back into the green it once was. "That's good, it shouldn't take too much longer. I never asked your name by the way?" Lily asked with a small smile, with a hand extended towards Simona.

"Oh, I'm Simona, Simona Sforza," Simona replied, shaking Lily's hand. Simona quickly chanced another glance at Severus, who was staring back with confusion in his dark eyes, still stirring his potion. Simona smiled shyly and looked back at the potion, still a green colour.

"That's a pretty name, where's it from?" Lily asked, genuinely interested in idle chatter, at this point Sirius and the boy with the messy hair from the train swaggered over, and did what Sirius claimed to be an 'attractive' smile. It actually made Simona shiver with disgust.

"Hello Lily, aren't we looking beautiful today?" Sirius said, with an annoying toothy smile. Simona rolled her eyes and started stirring the Pepperup potion to stop herself from gagging at Sirius' perceived 'charm'. Lily giggled and blushed. "Oh, I didn't notice you there Simona, it must be because your guard dog, Snivellus isn't here," he sneered, the messy haired boy starting to show signs of amusement. Simona chose to ignore Sirius' comment with great restraint, she could just picture grabbing him by his hair and smacking his face off of the work bench.

"Leave her alone Sirius, she's new. I wish you would stop calling Sev that, it isn't nice, "Lily said batting Sirius on the arm, Sirius laughed and looked into the cauldron.

"Why do you stick up for him Lil, he deserves it," Sirius whined, waving mockingly at Severus who was scowling back, his black eyes narrowing into dangerous slits, who was now vigorously stirring his potion.

"Because Sev's a good guy Sirius, You just can't see past his house. Why can't you give him a chance?" Lily chastised, causing the messy haired boy to tut in unison. "Don't you start James, you give him a really hard time. Of course he's going to retaliate if you keep picking on him," she continued. Simona smiled, she admired how Lily was so willing to stick up for Severus, which must be why Severus kept looking at her, and why he got so mad earlier in the lesson. She seemed to be one of the only Gryffindors who were friendly to him.

"Fine, okay we'll give him a break, but only because you're a good mate Lil," James said resignedly looking at Sirius for a reaction. He nodded with an exasperated sigh.

"Good, now leave me and Simona alone. We want to win those house-points," Lily said with a grin, looking at Simona and winking. Looking at the potion again, Lily wrote a few extra notes in her book and slammed it shut. "It looks like we're done here Simona; let's just hope it's good enough to win us those points. Sev is usually hard to beat," Lily said, smiling warmly at Severus, who quickly looked down at his potion, blushing.

"Should we start to pack away?" Simona asked, hoping to be of more use than a potion stirrer. Lily nodded and pointed at the spare ingredients.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Just put the spare ingredients in the jar labelled 'waste products' just by the sink, the stirring rod needs to be washed and when you're done with that just give me the rod back. I'll pack away the rest," Lily said politely. Simona nodded and carefully picked up the ingredients and carried them to the back of the room.

After Simona had finished doing as Lily said, she went and sat back down next to Lily, just in time for Slughorn's inspection of the potions. He started at the front of the classroom and worked his way back, after muttering a few compliments, and patting the back of one student, who looked extremely frazzled and drained of energy he got to Lily and Simona, who were looking expectantly at him. "Miss Sforza and Miss Evans, let's see how your joint-effort went eh?" Slughorn said excitedly, peering into the cauldron, after a few seconds he stepped back with a huge grin on his face. "Merlin's Beard! Well it certainly looks right, the colouring is spot-on. You two look like strong contenders for first place," he said, his eyes glittering with enthusiasm. Lily exclaimed in surprise and smiled broadly at Simona who returned her smile, with less conviction. After a few more inspections and coughing fits caused by copious amounts of steam billowing out of some of the more 'questionable' brews, Professor Slughorn reached Severus' table. Severus was stood tensely, his eyes boring holes into the back of Slughorn's head as he peered into the cauldron. "Almost there Severus, I think you just stirred it a tad too much. The colour is a bit too on the blue side, but a gallant effort all around," Sirius and James sniggered quietly, just loud enough for Severus to hear whose eyes snapped up and glared at them with revulsion. "I think that makes Miss Evans and Miss Sforza our victors for today, 15 points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor. That'll be all for today everyone, you may leave," Slughorn said brightly, Lily grinned and went to high-five Simona, who only reluctantly complied.

"I'm so glad we won Simona, it was great working with you. I can't wait until next lesson," Lily beamed as she quickly packed up her belongings and skipped off to join Sirius and James, who were still smirking unpleasantly at Severus. Severus was busily packing his own effects away. Simona walked up to Severus and caught his attention.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked kindly, Severus nodded firmly, still not in a good mood. As they walked out of the classroom and onto their next lesson, which was Transfiguration Professor Slughorn bounded behind them.

"Miss Sforza, good work today. You and Miss Evans seem to work together like a dream, how interesting," he pondered, turning back seemingly in deep thought. Simona looked at Severus and shrugged her thin shoulders.

The rest of the day went to go by with relative ease. Simona had struggled to turn a cup into a tortoise, causing it to turn it into a tortoise-patterned cup. This earned a few giggles from the Gryffindors, and Professor McGonagall to smirk in amusement. Simona was then saddled with the task of practicing the transformation for the next lesson. In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Severus seemed to be obsessively taking notes, including some rather crude drawings of stick-figures being subjected to various different spells. One of the drawings seemed to have parsnips instead of hands, Simona couldn't stop smirking at these scribbles, much to the vexation of Professor Ray. One subject she seemed to be adapting to quite well was Muggle Studies, which after the confused gawks she recieved from the other students, was able to answer the majority of questions asked by a rather surprised Professor Jennison. She earned 20 points for Slytherin in that one lesson, when Simona left the classroom she felt quite proud of herself.

At supper, Simona who was glad for a break propped up her Transfiguration textbook and attempted to change one of the spare cups into a tortoise. After half an hour of no success she gave up. Grabbing some tomato soup and eating it disappointedly. Severus was too busy scrawling in his notebook to notice Evan and Avery slumping down at the table. They immediately started piling food onto their plates and chatting idly. As it approached the end of supper, and the end of the first day at Hogwarts for Simona, Severus slammed his book shut. This caused Simona, Evan and Avery to jump.

"Bloody hell Snape, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Avery said in frustration. Severus' mouth curled into a smirk. "So how was your first day, Sforza?" Avery asked in an attempt at conversation as he leaned over the table.

"Fine," Simona replied tersely, after only knowing him for a day, Simona didn't like Avery too much. She felt he was too judgemental and hostile. She didn't feel much like talking to him. "I'm going to the common room now, Severus are you coming?" She asked, not wanting to be in Avery's company for much longer. She was also exhausted. Severus looked up at her, and after a few seconds nodded.

"Bye," Severus said curtly, and stood up to walk with Simona. Avery scoffed and continued shovelling food into his mouth, which Simona found repulsive. As Simona and Severus reached the doors of the Great Hall they were blocked by the appearance of James, Sirius and two other figures, unknown to Simona she had seen them before on the train. One seemed to look ill, with slicked back blonde hair and deep bags under their honey coloured eyes. The other was round, with rat-like features and two front teeth that were exposed from over their bottom lip. All four were sneering at Severus, whose hand went to reach for his wand again.

"Now, now Snivellus, we don't want to cause any trouble now do we Sirius?" James said, stepping forward with a nasty grin on his face. Simona glowered at the four Gryffindors.

"What, do you want?" Severus said quietly, with a dangerous tone to his voice. After being on the receiving end of Severus' temper before, Simona knew the Gryffindors were in trouble. Sirius stepped forward with his hands up, as if trying to tame a feral dog.

"Calm down, Snivelly," Sirius said, spitting out the last word, causing Severus to narrow his eyes, his hand sill not moving away from his wand. "Lily told us to play nice, so we are. Say we're, waving the white flag," Sirius continued, mirroring James' nasty smile. Simona did hear Lily berate Sirius and James earlier for their attitude towards Severus, but she knew Sirius was just using empty words. She didn't believe him. Severus seemed to recognise this too, his black eyes still narrowed with distrust.

Just as Severus was about to reach for his wand, Lily skipped over to them, a friendly grin on her face. "Hey guys, what's going on?" She said, putting an arm on James' shoulder who in turn tried to look nonchalant.

"Just telling Snape we're going to be pleasant from now on, weren't we Sirius?" James said, his brown eyes scrutinising Sirius, as if to jolt him in saying the right thing. Sirius nodded, albeit a bit too enthusiastically.

"Oh, okay. Hiya Simona, I'll see you tomorrow in Potions eh?" Lily said, smiling amiably at Simona, who nodded in return. Lily turned her emerald green gaze to Severus and smiled again. "Sev, good work today, I thought you were going to beat us! Better luck next time?" She said with a small laugh, Severus blushed and looked at the floor, avoiding her warm gaze. "I'm off back to the tower, are you guys coming with me?" She asked the other Gryffindors, after tearing their eyes off of Severus nodded and started to follow Lily. "Bye guys," she said politely as she walked off. After Lily had left, Severus looked back up and saw Simona staring back with an arched brow.

"What?" He mumbled, Simona shrugged her shoulders and yawned, the first day of Hogwarts had left her exhausted, how she was going to survive a year without falling asleep she didn't know.

"Shall we go back to the dormitories? I'm so tired," Simona asked, avoiding another yawn that almost snuck up on her. Severus nodded and set off almost straight away, leaving Simona struggling to keep up with Severus' long strides.

When they finally got into the Slytherin common room, Simona had to stop herself from collapsing straight onto one of the sofas. It was then that Simona noticed Vicky hunched over several textbooks looking deep in thought.

"Oh hiya Simona," Vicky said, noticing Simona's arrival. She smiled, but there was a strange look in her eyes. "How was your first day?" Vicky continued, with the same weird smile.

"It's been good, I earned 35 points for Slytherin today," Simona replied, attempting to sound conversational. Vicky smiled wider, putting her quill down and looking interested in what Simona had to say. "I'm really tired though, I don't know how I'm going to do it for the rest of the year," Simona smirked, Vicky laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the students who were in the common room. "I'm off to bed now, I'll see you later," Simona continued, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself.

"Bye Simona, have a nice rest," Vicky replied, her eyes resting on a piece of parchment full of frantic scribbles and corrections. Simona walked back over to Severus who was slumped in a chair, his greasy hair hung over his face. It looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Severus, I'm going to my room now, I'll see you tomorrow," She said softly, not wanting to wake him up. Severus started and looked up at Simona in confusion. "I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow." Simona repeated. Severus nodded sleepily and walked with her up to her room. As they reached the top of the stairs Simona turned and looked at Severus. "Well, this is me, double Herbology first thing. That should be fun," Simona retorted sarcastically, earning a minute smirk from Severus. "Goodnight Severus," Simona added, smiling and walking into her dorm.

Simona walked straight towards her bed as soon as she entered the dorm, wanting to avoid Bellatrix's once again piercing glare. Changing out of her school robes she put on her pyjamas and went to brush her teeth. Simona wondered why Vicky seemed off with her, the last couple of times they had spoken Vicky was almost overtly happy, annoyingly so. But this time she seemed withdrawn, and trying to act like nothing was wrong.

Once Simona had finished that train of thought and stopped brushing her teeth she almost leapt onto her bed out of exhaustion. Pulling the curtains around her, she quickly fell asleep, ready for the next day of Hogwarts.

Elsewhere in the boy's dormitory, Severus Snape lay awake. '_Why on earth is that Simona being so courteous to me?_' he thought, not understanding why Simona continued to stick up for them when he came under fire from the Gryffindors. He also considered why they were 'trying' to be nice to them. '_Lily_' he internally scoffed, '_forever the peacemaker'_finally closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

AN: So that's chapter 3 guys, I am currently working on chapter 4, and hopefully I will publish it tomorrow, if not asap! I made up some of the Professor's names as I wasn't too sure who taught each subject back when Severus and the Marauders were at Hogwarts. I also used, with the aid of Harry Potter Wikia some information on the Pepperup Potion, and I read about the Transfiguration lesson in POA. I will probably just make stuff up though. Hope some of you guys don't mind! Please review, like I said, I really do appreciate every review I receive! :)


	4. The Best Laid Schemes Of Mice And Men

AN: Wotcher everyone, I can't believe I've written chapter four already, I can remember when I first got the idea for this thing. Thank you soo much for all the lovely reviews you've given me thus far. I really do appreciate them, thank GOD it's the weekend soon so I'll be able to maybe post two chapters/day! *fingers crossed* Without further ado, here's chapter four and I hope you enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER FOUR: THE BEST LAID SCHEMES OF MICE AND MEN, OFTEN GO AWRY

When it got to the end of the week, Simona was glad for a break. She hadn't made much progress in Transfiguration; much to the amusement of the Gryffindors in the class, students still looked at her oddly in Muggle Studies and Vicky was still acting strangely. However, the Gryffindors seemed to actually be laying off Severus, it didn't stop Severus receiving death glares from them (and Severus returning them with even more venom) whenever he saw them, but it was still progress.

Simona was sat in the Great Hall for dinner, piling up her plate with mashed potato, beans and sausages whilst thinking about her meeting with Professor Slughorn that she was due to go to in 20 minutes. Severus was busy scribbling notes in his Potions book, and absentmindedly eating the odd chip. Avery and Evan were busy talking about a girl in Slytherin, who they seemed to think was 'well fit'. Simona had no idea what they meant by this, and made sure she would look it up or ask someone about it.

After 15 minutes of dinner and ignoring Avery and Evan's increasingly smutty comments about this unknown girl, Simona got up to leave for her meeting with Slughorn. Politely waving at Severus as she left, earning a small grunt in reply. Simona thought about the catastrophic Potions lesson she had that day.

Simona and Lily were working on an Ageing Potion, which causes the drinker to become much older. The more potion that is drunk, the older the drinker gets. Lily told Simona that the correct colour for the potion was a light blue. After adding the liquefied banana and powdered leaf successfully, Lily allowed Simona to add the carefully chopped rattlesnake. Simona tried to cut the snake into exact pieces, but after getting distracted by a flying paper bird resting in her hair, she accidentally cut a piece too small. Forgetting how precise an art Potions is, when the ingredient was added to the potion, copious amounts of smoke started coming from the cauldron, the potion had turned a dark gray colour. Surprisingly Lily reacted favourably, laughing in amusement. However, it did cause them to lose the chance of winning an extra 15 points to their respective houses. Simona was mortified, she really wanted to be able to successfully brew a potion, as much as she appreciated Lily's unrelenting support. She really wanted to be able to brew a potion on her own, like the rest of the class. Severus won that time, Lily vowed to beat him next time, telling him 'It is so on!' Simona didn't know 'what' was on. But just smiled, pretending she knew what Lily was on about

Simona reached the door of Slughorn's office, reluctantly raising her hand to the door. Before she could knock, the door swung open. "Ah, Miss Sforza, right on time too. Come in, come in," he said ushering Simona into his office. Simona noticed Slughorn's office was quite small, the walls were littered with moving pictures of Slughorn with different people, with little engravings under each picture, showing who was in it, and the year it was taken. In every photo, Slughorn was doing the same cheesy grin, violently shaking the hand of a rather nervous looking celebrity. His desk cluttered with aging parchments and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "Sit," Slughorn instructed and Slughorn sat on a tatty looking desk chair. "Do you want one?" He asked, wafting them in her face.

"No, thank you professor," Simona replied catching a whiff of what she thought, was vomit.

"I don't want to keep you too long Miss Sforza, so I just want to know how you think you're doing in Potions, if you're enjoying it and if you still need the assistance of Miss Evans," Professor Slughorn said cooly, his words slightly mumbled, due to the fact he was speaking with a mouth full of Every Flavour Beans.

"Well professor, I think I am doing okay. I do like Potions, but I think I need more time working with Lily, I don't think I am ready to work on my own yet," Simona replied, trying not to show her disgust at Slughorn, who was now eating the beans with his mouth open. Simona likened this to a cement mixer.

"Good, good. Potions does take a while to master, so don't get too disheartened. You are making progress Miss Sforza, and I think you should have no problems in brewing your own potions in a few weeks time, after you gain more confidence in your ability of course," Slughorn replied, swallowing his Every Flavour Beans with an audible gulp. "I think that will be all for this week, Miss Sforza. I'll see you back here this time next week?" Slughorn continued, shovelling more Beans into his mouth, Simona nodded hurriedly and almost ran out of the door. '_How can a man eat that many Every Flavour Beans in such a short space of time?_' she thought, shivering. By the time the meeting with Slughorn had ended, it was almost curfew. Simona walked down the dungeons' labyrinth-esque corridors and hallways and eventually ended back outside the portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Simona said the password out loud (Slytherin rules) and went to sit on one of the couches.

"Hey, Simona," Came a small unenthusiastic voice from behind her, Simona turned to see it was Rachel. The dark eyed brunette who nodded at Simona during her first night at Hogwarts. Rachel sat down next to Simona on the couch and put her feet up on the ebony table. "I heard you're working with that mudblood in Gryffindor," Rachel continued with an unpleasant smirk. Simona looked at Rachel in confusion. She didn't know what a 'mudblood' was, afraid that it would show that Simona lived with muggles, alienating herself from pretty much the whole of Slytherin. Simona pretended she knew what she was talking about.

"Yeah, Slughorn made me. Thinks we make a sort of 'dream team'," Simona replied, trying to sound disdainful of Lily, even though Simona liked her. Rachel scoffed and turned to Simona.

"Pfft, that Slughorn is desperate. He tried to pair me up with a half-blood Hufflepuff on Tuesday, if he wasn't my Head of House I swear to Merlin I would have hexed him," Rachel said scathingly. Simona laughed loudly at this, a bit too loudly, which earned a few stares and a raised eyebrow from Rachel.

"Well... isn't being paired up with a Hufflepuff of any blood status... laughable?" Simona faltered, trying to get Rachel back on her side. Simona watched Rachel's reaction in uncomfortable silence.

"I guess so, good one, Simona," Rachel replied, a smirk returning back to her face. '_Phew, almost_' Simona thought in relief. "I'll see you later, I'm going to bed," Rachel continued, slapping her hands down on to her legs and walking up to the dormitory. Simona hazarded a glance around the common room, their attention seemed to have been refocused, away from Simona's random outburst.

Simona got out her Transfiguration textbook and a cup she had taken from the Great Hall, and once again attempted to transfigure it into a tortoise. After a few failed attempts, and accidentally setting the cup on fire, Simona successfully transfigured the cup into a tortoise. Feeling proud of herself, Simona climbed up the stairs into the dorm room to have a shower, when she once again saw Bellatrix's piercing stare. Shrugging the strange feeling she got whenever she noticed those lifeless brown eyes, Simona had a quick shower and returned into the dorm room in her pyjamas and a towel wrapped precariously around her wet hair. Rachel was asleep, Vicky was staring sadly towards the door of the dorm and Bellatrix had (thankfully) gone to sleep too. Simona took this as a prime opportunity to take out her Compact Cassette player, with her headphones and started listening to her Led Zeppelin: II bootleg, softly singing the words to 'What Is and What Should Never Be'.

Hogwarts never usually allowed muggle software in the castle, and usually caused such software to blow up if it was tampered with. However, understanding Simona's situation, Professor Dumbledore allowed Simona to listen to her cassette tapes. There was a rule though, and that was no one else could know, and it should only be used when no one can either hear or see it, seeing as though it would be unfair to the other students.

After her parents were killed, Simona was able to cope with her loss through music. Her father had taught her how to play acoustic and electric guitar when she was 7 years old, her mother taught her to play piano and she gave Simona singing lessons. Simona's mother had a wonderful singing voice, Simona likened it to a songbird. Her father could sing too, but because of the music he was into, he had a more gravely, rock voice. Simona seemed to inherit both of these tones. Her adoptive parents encouraged Simona to use music as a coping mechanism too, and her adoptive father would tell her she sounded just like a 'young Janis Joplin' who just happened to be her mother's favourite musician.

Simona had listened to the tape twice, when she decided it was time to sleep. She wrapped her headphones around her cassette player, took down her now dry hair from her towel and lay back on the pillows; her inky black hair surrounding her like a crown. Out of exhaustion, Simona drifted off to sleep easily.

Waking up late Saturday morning, Simona instantly relaxed knowing she didn't have any lessons that day. After yawning and stretching, Simona changed into her muggle clothes, which consisted of a Deep Purple t-shirt and blue jeans. Brushing her teeth in front of a mirror, Simona was looking forward to the weekend. Finally being able to relax and not humiliate herself in lessons.

Upon entering the common room, Simona noticed Severus sat at a desk surrounded with numerous amounts of parchment. Simona sat down in a spare chair next to him and took a closer look at what he was writing. It seemed to look like ideas for different spells, notes on the Dark Arts and formulae for Potions. Simona was impressed, she had noticed Severus' aptitude in Potions and DADA, but never knew how much time he spent dedicated to researching and studying the topics in his free time. Severus noticed Simona sitting down and looked at her suspiciously.

"Hey Severus, why are you working, that is no way to spend a weekend!" Simona asked, attempting humour. Severus stared at her for a few seconds before arching a brow.

"This…is… how I spend my weekend," he replied sardonically. Simona blushed, trying to think of a good save.

"Well, I applaud your dedication, Severus. Not many people would study during their free time even if their lives depended on it," Simona said quickly, thinking that complimenting Severus might stop him looking as if he's analysing her. Severus smirked at this and started scribbling down more notes, his brows furrowing in concentration. Thinking it would be a bad idea to continue a conversation with him, Simona decided it would be a good idea to go get something to it. "I'm off to the Great Hall, see you later, Severus," Simona said quietly, putting up her hair into a ponytail. Severus grunted in response.

Simona sat by herself at the Slytherin table and helped herself to a big helping of toast, marmalade and tea. When she was half-way through her breakfast she noticed Lily standing in front of her. "Hiya Simona, do you want to come sit with us, you don't need to sit by yourself," Lily said with a smile, moving her arm towards the Gryffindor table where Sirius, James, the ill-looking boy and the mouse-faced boy were sat. Sirius was waving his arms madly, causing the rest of the Gryffindor boys to fall about with laughter. Simona nodded and followed Lily to the table. "I thought Simona should join us for breakfast, she was sat by herself," Lily said as she sat down opposite James. Simona took the seat next to Lily, she was sat opposite the ill-looking boy.

"Alright, Simona, where's Snivelly?" Sirius asked with a smirk, James laughed at this, Lily frowned. The ill-looking boy was busy reading a book.

"He's in the common room, studying." Simona said shortly, biting into some toast.

"Knew it, playing with his little potions set is he?" James asked, his mouth curling up into a crooked smile. It was Sirius' turn to laugh at this and high-fived James. Lily's frown deepened.

"Enough now guys, leave Sev alone." Lily reprimanded, causing the smug smiles to be wiped from Sirius and James' faces. The mouse-faced boy was wringing his hands nervously, looking for cues when to laugh. Simona smiled at Lily, liking the fact she was still sticking up for Severus.

"So from which poor muggle-born did you steal that shirt from , eh?" Sirius asked, with a mean glint in his eye. James gasped and laughed quietly at this. Simona's eyes darkened, the Deep Purple shirt was her father's she got it after he died, they were one of his favourite bands and got the t-shirt when he saw them on one of their early tours. Simona blinked back tears, this was her favourite tee.

"Sirius, that's an awful thing to say!" Lily scolded, putting an arm on Simona's shoulder.

"It was my father's, he got it when he saw Deep Purple in 1968," Simona said with gritted teeth, Sirius' expression softened.

"I'm sorry Simona, it's just you don't see a lot of Slytherins wearing muggle band tee shirts that they haven't stolen from someone. Do you like Deep Purple?" He asked, trying to amend his harsh comment. Simona could see that he was genuinely sorry and decided to appease him.

"Yes, they're one of my favourites," Simona said, a little more politely, she liked the fact she could discuss music with another wizard.

"What do you think of that new singer… I forget his name," Sirius said, his brows furrowing in concentration. Simona knew exactly who he was talking about, he was called David Coverdale, an unknown singer from the North-East.

"He's called David Coverdale. I really like him, he's got a really nice bluesy voice, I can't wait to hear the new album." Simona replied, a smile coming to her face.

"Oh yeah, that's who I was thinking of. I quite like him too." Sirius replied, a smile of familiarity appearing on his face. Simona looked to the ill-looking boy, who was still engrossed in his book. She noticed the title 'Of Mice and Men' by a muggle author, John Steinbeck. Simona remembered reading the book when she was younger, her father would replace the swear words with funny substitutes.

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men..." Simona said, causing the ill-looking boy to look up from his book at her.

"…Gang aft agley," He finished, smiling. Simona nodded at this and the others looked at them in confusion.

"I used to love reading that book when I was younger," Simona said quietly. "Have you read it before?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just like to re-read it every now and again," The boy replied. "I'm Remus by the way," He continued, extending his hand towards Simona, she shook his hand and smiled.

"I'm Simona," She said, grabbing another piece of toast.

"I know, Sirius is forever talking about you," He said politely, causing Sirius to scoff in indignation.

"I do not… it's… it's only because you know Snivellus!" He said outraged and tripping on his words, Lily cleared her throat at Sirius. "I mean… Snape," He corrected himself, earning himself a weak smile from Lily.

"Is that so?" Simona asked, arching a brow at Sirius, even though she liked his taste in music, she still didn't appreciate the way he treated Severus and she enjoyed watching him squirm.

"I think she's got you there Sirius!" James said, highly amused earning a firm biff to the head from an irate and embarrassed Sirius. The Gryffindors roared with laughter (AN: Hilarious pun, I know)

"Screw you guys, I'm going back to the tower!" Sirius shouted, slamming his hands down onto the table and marching out of the Hall. The mouse-faced boy eagerly ran after him, his pudgy legs struggling to keep up, he almost slammed into three first-year Hufflepuffs, causing James to laugh, full of mirth. Simona laughed too, more out of confusion as to what had just gone on.

"I should go now guys, I told Severus I'd be back after I had something to eat," Simona said, excusing herself from the table. Severus didn't say that exactly, but she wanted to get away from the awkward silence that seemed to envelop the table after Sirius' moody departure. The Gryffindors said goodbye, Remus smiled at her warmly, and Lily waved frantically, James nodded in acknowledgement.

When Simona got back to the common room, Severus was still poring over his parchments in a state-like-trance. Feeling uncharacteristically brave, '_it must be from sitting with those Gryffindors'_ she thought to herself, she sat back down in the empty chair. "Hey Severus, still studying?" She asked amiably. Severus grunted in response. "Lily got me to sit with those Gryffindor boys," Simona continued, undeterred by Severus' un-cooperation. Severus looked up at the mention of Lily and raised a brow. '_victory!_' Simona thought with a smirk.

"They didn't say anything about me did they?" Severus said unemotionally. Simona was surprised by this, Severus didn't seem the type to care about what people thought about him.

"No," Simona lied, not wanting Severus' mood to plummet again. "I found out Sirius likes Deep Purple," Simona continued, looking down at her father's shirt. Severus looked confused. "They're a muggle band," Simona explained, answering Severus' non-verbal question. "Anyway, I know this will interest you…" Simona said, leaving room for guesses.

"What?" Severus asked irritably after Simona broke off her sentence mid-way. Simona looked at him with a mischievous glint in her emerald green eyes.

"I made Sirius get up and leave the table in a mood," Simona said, Severus smirked at this.

"And, how did you do that?" Severus asked, suddenly genuinely interested.

"Well, I was talking to Remus about a book he was reading, and when I told him my name he said he already knew because Sirius was 'always talking about me'," Simona replied adding air quotes.

"Go on," Severus added, wanting to know how she got the usual arrogant and level-headed Sirius to march off in a huff. Simona's smirk grew larger.

"He tried to cover it up by saying it was only because I knew you, and when I questioned him about it, and James mocked him for it, he just up and left, " Simona finished, looking for Severus' reaction. His mouth turned up at the corner in amusement and scoffed with quiet laughter.

"I must say, that's quite an achievement," Severus said silkily and returned back to his parchment.

Simona sat in silence for a bit, drumming her fingers on the table before deciding to go up to her room. "I'll leave you to it, I'll be back down later," Simona said, wanting to think about today's events.

"Okay." Severus replied, his black eyes still fixed on his scribbled writing.

Simona walked up to her dormitory and when she opened the door she inhaled sharply.

AN: Ohhhh bad cliffhanger or what? I've been wanting to do one of those for ages. I hope you enjoyed this chapter folks, I have added some more marauders action for you, I know this chapter is a bit 'Sev-lite' but he will become more prominent in following chapters, promise. :) xoxo


	5. A Scorching Fire

AN: Hello everyone, I apologise profusely for leaving you waiting an extra day, I've just been wiped out with work from College and I had pretty much no time to update yesterday. Thank you again for the subscrptions and the reviews, they make me so happy. I also found this chapter a bit diffcult to write, because when I wrote the God-awful cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, I didn't actually know what the cliffhanger was going to be! But, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Enjoy!  
>DISCLAIMER; There is a bit of violence in this, so for people who aren't fans of that, I'm afraid you won't like this too much.<p>

DISCLAIMER PART DEUX; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER FIVE; A SCORCHING FIRE

Simona entered the dorm to see the three girls standing around her bed. Rachel had Simona's cassette player in her hand, and was poking it with a wand suspiciously. 'Oh, Merlin' Simona thought, fearing the fact that her dorm mates will now hate her for having a 'muggle device' Simona's sharp intake of breath drew the attention of the girls, who were now glaring at her.

"What the hell is this?" Rachel asked scathingly, Bellatrix's glare was even more unbearable.

"I have no idea," Simona lied, not wanting to reveal the fact that she liked or knew about muggle technology.

"Then why is it here? I saw it peeking out from under the bed when I came in earlier," Rachel questioned, Simona started to feel beads of sweat on her forehead. She didn't want to alienate herself from someone who actually wanted to talk to her.

"I don't know, I've never seen it before," Simona replied unemotionally, not trying to give away the importance of the cassette player. Rachel's black eyes were still narrowed in suspicion.

"I'm taking it to Dumbledore, the old git might be able to tell us something about this… monstrosity," Rachel hissed. Simona swore she just saw Bellatrix smirk.

"No, no, you don't have to do that. It was under my bed, I should take it. It's probably some muggle recording device one of the Gryffindors planted to spy on us," Simona replied quickly, hoping Rachel would accept this, even though Simona thought it was a poor cover up.

"And why do you think that those Gryffindors would want to spy on us?" Rachel said, stepping towards Simona threateningly. Seeing as though Simona is petite, Rachel towered over her. Simona had no idea what to say to this, but suddenly remembered her conversation with Rachel yesterday, and her blatant dislike of Lily.

"That Evans girl." Simona replied shortly, putting on an impassive front. "I don't trust her."

"Is that so? Why do you think that mudblood would want to hear our conversations?" Rachel asked, her mouth curling into a snarl.

"Umm," Simona stuttered, she had truly run out of things to say. Her eyes widened in terror as Rachel grabbed the front of Simona's robes, her face a mere inches away from Simona's.

"She's a Gryffindor, why would she need an excuse?" Vicky added quickly, her sad eyes looking at Rachel. Rachel's eyes narrowed even more, turning them into black slits.

"Yeah, you can't umm… trust those Gryffindors," Simona added, causing Rachel's eyes to snap back to Simona.

"Don't… play dumb with me Sforza, I know what that… contraption is, and I know that it is yours. Now, why on earth do you have that primitive muggle device?" Rachel yelled, her wand flew to Simona's throat, pressing painfully on her voice-box. Simona whimpered. Usually she could hold her own in an argument, but Rachel terrified her. Any attempt to defend herself was thwarted by unadulterated fear.

"I…I… it's mine," Vicky said suddenly, both Simona and Rachel looked at Vicky with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Vicky hadn't said a word for days, she always looked at Simona with glassy eyes, like she was about to burst into tears. "I let Simona borrow it, she told me she likes listening to muggle music to help her sleep," Vicky continued, stepping bravely towards Rachel.

"Aww look, little Miss Muggle-Lover has a friend," Rachel mocked, laughing mirthlessly. Her grip tightening on Simona's robes, Simona struggled under her vice-like grip. "Shame that she is a LIAR," Rachel screeched, pushing Simona towards a wall, her wand poking Simona more painfully against her throat. Simona's breaths rapidly increased, she thought she was going to pass out.

"Leave her alone Rachel. I think it's good that she has the muggle device. Besides, our music isn't that good anyway," Vicky appealed, laughing weakly at her attempt at humour.

"Shut up, Ryan. You're only a filthy half-blood. STUPEFY!" Rachel yelled, sending sparks out of her wand, causing Vicky to go flying towards the wall at the opposite side of the room. Hitting the wall with a painful CRACK, Vicky's unconscious body slid painfully down the wall. Simona winced, if that was only for standing up to Rachel, what on earth was going to happen to her?

"You're a disgrace to this noble house, do you know that? You're nothing but a blood-traitor, just like your repulsive, filthy, good-for-nothing, poor muggle-loving parents!" Rachel shrieked, spitting out every word with venom.

At that moment, it felt like a scorching fire seared throughout Simona's body, burning away every iota of distress Simona felt and replacing it with fury. All the strength returned to Simona's bones and she was able to break free from Rachel's grip. "What… did you just say?" Simona said quietly, the same dangerous tone Severus used when he was angry. Her brow arched, and her emerald green eyes turning to obsidian.

Simona's hands tightened into fists. She wasn't going to use magic against Rachel, she felt it was more satisfying to do it the muggle way.

"I said… you're nothing but your lowly, disgusting traitor parents," Rachel replied mockingly, her mouth curling into a sardonic smirk. This, if possible angered Simona even further.

Simona blacked out with anger and punched Rachel so hard in the face she felt as though she had broken the bones in her hand. Rachel fell to the floor blood gushing out of her nose. Simona jumped on top of Rachel and continued to punch Rachel in the head repeatedly, using both hands.

"That's…for…hex…ing…Vic…ky." Simona snarled through gritted teeth between each blow to Rachel's face. "That's…for…my…par…ents…and…that's…for…Li…ly…" Simona cried, increasing the ferocity of each punch. All Simona could feel at that moment was pure hate. Soon, Rachel had been beaten unconscious, nasty black bruises were forming on both her eyes, her lip was bleeding badly, her nose had been broken and it looked like Simona had broken her jaw in several places too. It took all of Simona's self-control to stop hitting Rachel, fearing that if she didn't stop, she would kill her.

Simona's breathing was now ragged and uneven, dragging herself off from Rachel, she wiped Rachel's blood from her face. She had to get out of the dorm room. "_Mi dispiace mamma, papà. So che si sarebbe arrabbiato con ciò che ho fatto stasera, ma lei infangato il vostro onore.__Non potevo lasciarla fare a voi. Io ti amo_," she said, tears streaming down her face. Wiping them fiercely from her face, as fast as they appeared she took off from the dorm room.

At the bottom of the stairs, Simona ran into Severus, knocking the books out of his hands. "Watch where you're going," He snarled. Picking up his books from the floor and scowling at Simona. He flinched when he noticed Simona's black eyes. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, feigning concern.

"None of your business," Simona barked, pushing past him and striding towards the exit. Severus grabbed Simona's wrist, causing her to spin around towards him. "LET GO OF ME!" Simona screeched, trying to get out of Severus' constricted grip.

Severus pulled her out of the common room, where people were now looking at the two with prying eyes, through the annex of corridors and out onto the Quidditch pitch. Not looking at Simona the whole time. "You will tell me what is wrong with you," Severus said lowly, using the dangerous tone that Simona had become accustomed to.

"Leave me alone," Simona hissed. The hatred she had before was slowly starting to disintegrate.

"No, not until you tell me why you're so angry," Severus growled. Not letting go of Simona's wrist.

"There's nothing to tell. I'm just in a bad mood," Simona lied. Not wanting to confess to beating up Rachel. Severus sighed in exasperation. Simona was notorious for being stubborn.

"What has happened Simona? You've never been angry, the whole time I've known you," Severus said, his tone softening. Thinking that perhaps being calm towards her might end her animosity towards him.

"Nothing's happened, just leave me alone," Simona whispered. Her eyes looking at the ground, wanting to avoid Severus' scrutinising gaze.

"Please, Simona," Severus begged, seeing as though she was one of the only people who were actually civil towards him, he didn't like seeing her so wound up.

"If I tell you, would you hate me?" Simona asked, her voice suddenly sounding anxious, and barely above a murmur. Simona felt she was going to faint with apprehension, she was afraid that Severus would hate her for letting someone aggravate her so much.

"No," Severus said softly, Simona's eyes slowly raised and looked up at Severus, who's expression was concerned.

"Promise," Simona said quietly, biting her lip nervously. Severus tried to stop himself from rolling his eyes at Simona's juvenile question.

"I promise," Severus answered, gently dragging Simona up to the stands and making her sit down.

Simona's hands started to shake violently, she felt light-headed. "I beat up Rachel," She said softly, swallowing a sudden lump in her throat. Reluctantly, she looked at Severus, whose expression had become unreadable, as if he was wearing a mask.

"Why did you beat her up?" Severus asked, his eyebrow arching with confusion. He knew that Simona was usually quite placid.

"Because she called my parents repulsive, filthy, good-for-nothing, blood traitors," Simona spat angrily, feeling hatred trying to take overcome her once again.

"And what caused Rachel to say that about your parents?" Severus asked, calmly.

"She found my cassette player hidden under my mattress, and started asking questions about it," Simona replied, closing her eyes to try and shut out the anger. Plus, she remembered that Dumbledore didn't want anyone else other than themselves to know about it. "She had me pinned against the wall, with her wand pressed at my throat, she hurt Vicky,"

"What did she do to Vicky, Simona?" Severus questioned, trying to sound as non-judgemental as possible.

"She hexed her. She hexed her because Vicky was sticking up for me," Simona said, suddenly full of guilt. She didn't care about Rachel, but felt concerned about Vicky's well-being. "I've got to get back." Simona said, suddenly standing up. "I've got to get back to Vicky," Simona continued, smoothing down her robes and making her way down the steps back to the dungeons.

"No," Severus said, startling Simona, he grabbed Simona's arm and pulled her back down to where they were sat. "You need to tell me what has happened Simona, so we can help Vicky," Severus said, raising his voice slightly.

"Fine," Simona said curtly. "After Rachel hexed Vicky, she started saying those things about my parents, I got so angry, I felt as though I wasn't being me. Like I was watching myself hit Rachel. When I saw that I had beaten her unconscious, I went downstairs and that's when I ran into you," Simona said, her voice getting weaker as she finished her sentence.

"Okay, what we need to do is go to Dumbledore. He'll help us," Severus said thoughtfully, his brows furrowing in concentration.

"No, he'll get me expelled!" Simona cried, her eyes widening in horror. The last thing Simona wanted to happen was get expelled from Hogwarts.

"He won't, even though he is a dunderhead, he cares about his students. He'll understand Simona. You've just got to trust me," Severus replied, his hands grabbing Simona's arms and looking straight into her eyes. "Please," He said, his black eyes sparkling intently. Hesitantly, Simona nodded.

When they got outside Professor Dumbledore's office and had spoken the password (Jumping jellybean) Simona froze. This was it. "Come in Miss Sforza and Messr Snape," A voice came from the other side of the door. Simona jumped, her body started to shake. She felt herself falling backwards, when suddenly a sturdy hand caught her. She looked up to see Severus' black eyes staring at her, full of concern. Simona smiled weakly, and apprehensively opened the door to see Dumbledore peer up at her from his half-moon spectacles. "I think you should take a seat Miss Sforza," Dumbledore said sternly.

Simona complied and sat down, Severus sat beside her. He knew that she barely had enough strength to stand, let alone speak, he felt he should defend her. "Professor Dumbledore," Severus started, but was quickly interrupted by Dumbledore waving his hand.

"I know what has transpired tonight Severus, you may leave now," He said, pointing his hand towards the door. Simona's eyes widened, she needed Severus to be there. She didn't feel up to facing Dumbledore on her own.

"Professor, Simona is in no fit state to defend herself, she needs me," He said pleadingly, Simona's eyes started to water. She was touched by how adamant Severus was to help her. She certainly felt that she didn't deserve it, but she didn't want Severus to get into trouble for sticking up for her.

"You don't have to," Simona suddenly croaked, making both Dumbledore and Severus to look at her in disbelief for her outburst.

"No, Simona. You almost fainted, twice. Professor Dumbledore, please," Severus begged, Professor Dumbledore merely nodded and Severus sat back down next to Simona. Severus didn't know why he felt so compelled to stick up for Simona, other than the fact that he had never had anyone fight in his corner before, Simona was there for him when the Gryffindors mocked him on the train, and he made damn sure he was going to be there for Simona now.

"How, how did you know about what happened, sir?" Simona said quietly, her eyes avoiding Dumbledore.

"Miss Ryan came to me earlier, telling me how Miss Theodore threatened you. She told me that you were pinned up against the wall, under a lot of duress, and that she was hexed by Miss Theodore. When she regained consciousness she heard Miss Theodore's comment to you about your parents, and how you attacked her. Miss Ryan saw you mumble something in Italian and leave the room visibly upset," Dumbledore said patiently, his light-blue eyes staring straight at Simona. "Is this account accurate, Miss Sforza?" Simona could only nod.

"Professor, surely that shows that Simona is remorseful. I could vouch for that, she's never been so angry before. Rachel shouldn't have said what she said about Simona's parents," Severus pleaded, his hands waving about dramatically. Simona could only admire him, he was like her solicitor.

"I am aware of that, Messr Snape. But with or without provocation, an attack on any student is a grave offence. Especially one that involves serious injury. Miss Theodore is currently in the hospital wing receiving medical attention. She is lucky to have not received brain damage from Miss Sforza's attack," Simona felt sick. She had never beaten anyone so much that they were hospitalised, or had a chance of getting brain damage because of her poor control over her temperament. "Miss Sforza was aware of the fact she was under strict instruction from myself, to not let her cassette player be common knowledge to any student, even excluding you," Dumbledore said calmly, addressing Severus, as if Simona wasn't in the room. Feeling fait once again, Simona gripped Severus' arm, causing him to jump, he looked at her frail hand, weakly grasping onto his arm and had genuine concern in his eyes.

"Sir, I think Simona's going to faint," Severus panicked. "What should I do?" He asked, relying on Dumbledore for an answer.

"Miss Sforza needs to go to the hospital wing, it seems she is in need of some fluids, and a good night's rest," Dumbledore replied, walking towards them.

At this point, Simona had blacked out. The stress of the situation, and the fact she had hospitalised someone was far too much for her to cope with. She was also terrified she was going to be expelled, or sent to Azkaban for her actions. As much as she enjoyed beating the living daylights out of someone who said such derogatory remarks about her parents, she wished she had just visualised it, instead of actually hitting her.

When she woke up, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. The light of the room hurt her eyes, she was surrounded by white curtains, lying on a similar coloured bed, with white sheets and pillows. And sat next to her, slumped in a chair, black greasy hair framing their hooked nose was the undisputable figure of Severus Snape.

AN: So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and liked the fact Simona stood up for herself. I also hope you guys liked how Severus helps out Simona in this chapter, I wanted them to develop a bit more of a kinship. It makes my story SO much easier to write! Also, if you were wondering what Simona said in Italian, it was; 'I'm sorry mum, dad. I know you would be angry with what I have done tonight, but she besmirched your honor. I couldn't let her do that to you. I love you'... I doubt it's accurate, I used 'Google Translate' I'm not Italian, but I wish I was! Anyway, thanks again for reading this. And I promise the time between updating will smooth out again! :D xoxo


	6. In Times Of Stress And Agitation

AN: Hey guys, I've been working on this baby all day. My Biology homework can wait! I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank you for your continued support, whether it be through favouriting my story, adding myself and my story to your alerts or reviewing me. I appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER SIX; IN TIMES OF STRESS AND AGITATION, ONE USUALLY FORGETS THEMSELVES

Simona's body cried with exhaustion. But relief washed over her as she watched Severus sleeping in the chair next to her bed. He looked so peaceful, and wondered if he thought the same thing when he watched her sleeping. Simona could hear a murmur of concerned voices, one of which belonged to Madame Pomfrey. "I'm afraid I cannot let you in to see Miss Sforza, Miss Ryan. She is still far too weak to receive any visitors," she said quietly, earning a sigh in indignation from Vicky. The room was far too warm, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her hair felt wet with perspiration. She suddenly felt self-conscious. _'Merlin, I must look disgusting. I bet as soon as Severus wakes up he'll recoil in horror at the sight of me.'_ She thought, fiddling with her hands nervously.

"Severus?" Simona whispered, her voice cracking from lack of usage. Immediately a pair of onyx eyes snapped up at her, immediately sparkling with relief.

"Oh, Simona. Thank Merlin you're awake. I was so worried," he said, standing up and walking to Simona's bed. He signalled for Simona to sit up whilst he fluffed her pillows up. "Dumbledore's been to see you a few times. It looks like he's not going to expel you," He continued, softly pressing on Simona's shoulder to signal her to relax back into a more comfortable seated position.

"Why are you here?" Simona croaked. Severus' eyes flashed with hurt and he began to scowl.

"I can go if you don't want me here," he said bitterly, smoothing down his robes and looking away. Simona's eyes widened.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just I heard Madame Pomfrey turning Vicky away, I was just wondering why you were able to stay with me, and not her," Simona said, panicking slightly. Severus heaved a sigh of relief and sat on Simona's bed, his dark eyes softening.

"Oh, well Dumbledore and Pomfrey knew that I wouldn't take no for an answer so they grudgingly let me stay with you," he said smugly, the corner of his mouth twitching, almost as if he was trying to smile. Simona tried to laugh genuinely, but felt too weak, she instead let out a squeak of laughter.

"I'm so glad you're here Sev," Simona said quietly, her eyelids feeling too heavy to keep open. She felt herself falling asleep. Just as she was on the brink of unconsciousness, she felt a warm hand cover hers.

'As am I Simona." Severus said softly. He watched her sleeping for at least an hour, how her ash-black lashes contrasted with her porcelain skin. Her full lips were curved into a small smile, and her wild black hair framed her face. She looked happy and so peaceful when she was sleeping. Severus internally cursed himself. He had strong feelings for Lily, his dear Lily, the girl who he met when they were both children, 'Lovely Lily'. And now he was starting to develop questionable feelings about Simona, his childish, stubborn, bad-tempered Simona. Pulling his hand away from Simona's, trying to shake off the feelings he felt towards her, he noticed she frowned and sighed. He had to leave. He couldn't show any more weakness towards anyone, it had already almost cost his friendship with Lily, he didn't think his heart could make room for two people. Getting up to leave, he looked back to see Simona's tranquil expression and swore under his breath. "Goddammit Simona Sforza," he muttered before leaving the hospital wing.

When Simona eventually woke up, she panicked. "Severus…" she said quietly, her emerald eyes searching for a sign of the black figure that was there when she fell asleep. "Sev, where are you?" She asked, panic and fear creeping into her voice. She didn't like being alone in the hospital wing. "SEVERUS!" She yelled, hoping he was just outside. Madame Pomfrey ran towards Simona's bed with a worried expression on her face.

"Miss Sforza, Messr Snape left a couple of hours ago," Madame Pomfrey said calmly. Handing Simona two vials of what Simona thought looked like vomit. "You're weak and confused Miss Sforza, take these potions. It'll make you feel better."

Reluctantly, Simona drank both of the potions, grimacing when the concoction slid down her throat. Immediately, the aches and pains that she had been experiencing in her bones had gone, she no longer had a migraine and she felt stronger. But the only ache she now experienced was the ache she felt when Severus left her. He was the only one who understood what she was going through, and he had left her. Fighting back tears, Simona slumped on her bed. Her crazy hair covering her face.

"Do you feel any better?" Madame Pomfrey asked softly, putting a caring hand on Simona's shoulder. Simona nodded, sniffing as silent tears fell down her face. "Good, Professor Dumbledore will be here to see you soon, and then after that you are free to go," Madame Pomfrey continued, patting Simona and cooing over another student. 'Merlin's beard.' She thought. Forgetting that she still hadn't received her punishment for last night, guilt washed over Simona again as she remembered how Vicky had been hurt, how Simona beat Rachel senseless. How she disappointed her parents. The tears fell freely from Simona's eyes, and became nerve-racking sobs.

After 20 minutes, and she felt she couldn't produce any more tears, Simona got up from her bed and looked out the window. It was bright, the sun beamed down from the sky with little/no clouds blocking its rays. Students were happily chatting and running around outside, enjoying the warmth. She gasped as she saw a lone figure, sat underneath a tree with what it looked to be a giant text-book she could see black hair. "Severus," She said quietly.

"Miss Sforza," Simona turned to see Professor Dumbledore, dressed in bogey green robes, his spectacles half-way down his long nose. "It's good to see you looking healthier Miss Sforza, could you take a seat?" Simona complied and sat down cross-legged with her fingers interlinked. She bit her bottom lip nervously. "You must be wondering what your punishment is for harming Miss Theodore yesterday evening," Professor Dumbledore stated calmly. Wondering was an understatement, it was all Simona could think about, sans Severus' abandonment. Simona nodded, thinking it would be best to let Dumbledore talk before saying anything. "I have corresponded with Professor Slughorn on what course of action would be the best to take. We have come to the conclusion that yourself and Miss Ryan will be moved to another dormitory to ensure minimal contact with Miss Theodore, you will be spared expulsion, but you will be subjected to 6 months worth of detention with Professor Slughorn. 150 points will be taken from your house, and you will be banned from the first 2 Hogsmeade visits. We felt it was foolish to take your cassette player from you, but it will reside with me. You will only be allowed access to it in my office." Simona flinched, but felt her punishment was fair.

"Thank you, Professor," Simona eventually replied. Professor Dumbledore looked confused.

"Why, whatever for Miss Sforza?" He asked, perplexed.

"For not expelling me, and for not treating me like some sort of monster. I know that's what I am," Simona replied, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Simona felt frustrated, she was never usually this emotional, but she felt so relieved that she wasn't expelled. Professor Dumbledore treated her admirably. She appreciated that.

"We're human, Miss Sforza. In times of stress and agitation, one usually forgets themselves," Professor Dumbledore said wisely. "Now, if you don't mind, there's lemon drops with my name on it. Madame Pomfrey told me that you are now free to go. You will find Miss Ryan in the common room, she misses you," Professor Dumbledore bowed, before walking out of the wing. Simona stayed in her chair for a while longer, enjoying the peace while it lasted. Simona knew that Rachel, as soon as she recovered… Would waste no time in recounting her own version of last night's events, of course showing Rachel in a more 'favourable' light.

Reluctantly, Simona made her way back down to the common room, it was becoming dark, and only a short amount of time before curfew. She knew a lot of Slytherins will be there, she took a deep breath, braced herself and entered the common room. There was an eerie silence as at least 40 pairs of eyes snapped up at Simona at the same time. Simona would be impressed with their impeccable timing, were it not for the fact they were staring at her. Her cheeks growing furiously red she scanned the common room, looking for Vicky. She was sat at the back of the room, at the same desk Severus had yesterday. "Vicky," Simona said quietly, she didn't know what to say to her, other than apologise for what happened.

Vicky's eyes looked up at Simona and a smile spread across her face. "Simona!" She exclaimed grabbing Simona and pulling her into an air-constricting hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. I tried to visit you but Pomfrey wouldn't let me. I know it must be hard seeing everyone staring at you. Rachel tried to tell everyone how she was the victim, and for some strange reason most people believed her. There are some people, like me who were actually impressed that you stood up to her. But obviously not everyone saw it that way," Vicky said mumbling into Simona's shoulder. Simona stiffened in shock. Why did people believe the tripe Rachel was telling them? She hazarded a glance around the common room, the eyes were still staring at her. Judging. Again, Simona felt a blush creep up on her high cheekbones..

"I wish they would stop staring at me," Simona muttered quietly, looking uncomfortably at the floor. She wish they understood why she did what she did.

"It's okay, it's those who believe you that matter. Come on, I'll show you our new room. Thankfully we're sharing it with people who are on our side," Vicky said softly, putting a reassuring hand on Simona's arm. Vicky looked at those who were staring at her and snarled.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Simona entered the room with hesitation, the room was identical to her other room, but had different inhabitants. The two girls immediately started to walk towards Simona and Vicky, both grinning broadly.

"I'm Celestica, Celestica Reinhart. I'm so glad to meet you Simona. You really gave it to Rachel didn't you? I've been waiting for three years to teach that bitch a lesson," Celestica smirked, her think lips curling into a sneer, her dark blue eyes shining. Simona was taken aback by Celestica's language . But smiled in return, she found it amusing.

"And I'm Romagna DelVecchio. _E per tua informazione, mi ha deluso non ho mai avuto l'opportunità di insegnare quella ragazza mia lezione personale_," (And for your information, I was disappointed I never had the opportunity to teach that girl my own personal lesson) Romagna added with a wink. Simona laughed at this, she was glad she had a fellow Italian to talk to. Celestica and Vicky looked at the pair in confusion, causing Simona and Romagna to break out into giggles.

"_Penso che dovremmo usare questo a nostro vantaggio. Che ne dici_?" (I think we should use this to our advantage. What do you think?) Simona asked with a bemused smile. Romagna's brown curly hair bounced as she nodded, and extended her olive arm out towards Simona.

"_Affare_," (Deal) Romagna replied. Simona laughed and shook her hand. This was the happiest Simona had felt for what seemed an age. They both looked at Celestica and Vicky who looked worried.

"Is it just me, Vicky. Or do you think that what they just said is going to end badly for us?" Celestica said almost comically, hiding behind Vicky.

"_Hanno paura di noi. Come divertente_," (They are afraid of us. How amusing) Romagna added, a sadistic smile spreading onto her features. Simona could barely breathe as she convulsed with laughter. Perhaps not helping Celestica and Vicky's anxiety.

"It's okay guys, we were just messing," Simona said, still thoroughly amused. Romagna nodded. Both Celestica and Vicky sighed with relief. "Which bed is mine?" Simona asked, looking around the room.

"It's this one, next to mine," Vicky answered, Pointing towards the empty bed. Designed in the same way as the other room. Simona sat on the bed, wishing that she was tired enough to go to sleep, but still had pent up adrenaline from the previous night.

"Thanks. I'm going for a walk, I'm not tired," Simona said, looking at the other girls who were either changing into their pyjamas or yawning. She got up and put on her outdoor robe, all of her belongings were already on or next to her bed.

"You can't, Simona. It's too dangerous, plus it's past curfew," Celestica replied quickly. "I know you must have a lot of energy at the moment, but a few girls, friends of Rachel's are crying out for your blood. You could get seriously hurt," Celestica said with concern in her voice. Simone grudgingly agreed, it was a stupid idea. She knew that now.

"You're right. I'll just try to settle down and get some sleep," Simona said softly, smiling weakly at her new friend. Changing into her grey cotton pyjama bottoms and an oversized Hendrix shirt, Simona tied her unruly hair into a loose ponytail and climbed into bed.

"Night Simona," Celestica said as she got into bed too. Vicky mumbled the same thing as she turned towards Simona. Her eyes back to its original sparkle.

"_Buonanotte_." (Good night) Romagna said sleepily as she yawned.

Simona closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but was let down by her thoughts. _'Why did Severus abandon her when she needed him? Why, for Merlin's sake are people taking Rachel's side if she is so unkind to everyone, and conversely, why are Romagna and Celestica being so nice? Why didn't she get expelled? And finally, why in the name of all that is holy, did Dumbledore think those dreadful green robes suit him?'_ Simona chuckled to herself about the lattermost thought. _'He did look ridiculous though'_ she thought. After those thoughts circled in her head for what it felt was a long time, Simona finally slept, more out of exhaustion than anything else.

AN: Well, that's it. I'm already working on the next one, hopefully it'll be more exciting than this chapter. Google Translate is my new best friend, so I apologise if the Italian is not fully accurate. I hope you liked this chapter, don't be afraid to review it and tell me what you think! xoxo


	7. Little Miss Sunshine And ScrappyDoo

AN: Hello, hello. I'm so glad I've been able to upload this chapter tonight, I've been slaving over it like a hot stew all day. I'll keep this brief, thank you for your support. Please review, I love hearing what you guys think of this. I hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER SEVEN; LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE AND THE REAPPEARANCE OF SCRAPPY-DOO

Monday morning, and it meant one thing. Double potions. Groaning, Simona dragged herself out of bed, her unruly hair sticking up on end and cursed under her breath. She was not a morning person. "Good morning Simona!" Vicky said cheerfully. "It's a beautiful day isn't it?" She said, staring out of the window. She was right, the sun was shining, there were little/no clouds in the sky. Simona grunted in response. She was far too tired to be as positive as Vicky. Simona hadn't slept well at all, she did drift off eventually, but only slept lightly. Being awoken by Celestica's deafening snores. Celestica was happily chatting away to Romagna, who looked just as tired as Simona.

"What time is it?" Simona mumbled as she stretched and yawned.

"It's 6:45. I'm going to go down for breakfast soon, fancy joining me?" Vicky asked happily, tying her hair back into a low ponytail.

"6:45?" Simona replied, shell shocked. '_How in the name of Merlin's baggy blue bloomers was she this happy at 6:45...AM_?' she thought. Vicky nodded, rather violently and beamed.

"Yeah, I had a bit of a sneaky lie-in actually. I usually get up at 5:30." Vicky replied airily. Simona's eyes widened in shock.

"Wow, well that is a lie-in, if ever I saw one." Simona retorted sarcastically. Vicky's smile faded a bit and looked slightly hurt. '_Oh pants._' Simona thought, her bad temper got the best of her.

"_Ciao Simona, che cosa c'è di sbagliato in Little Miss Sunshine?_" (Hello Simona, what's wrong with little Miss Sunshine?) Romagna asked, tilting her head towards Vicky, who was smiling manically.

"_Ero sarcastico a lei. Ha bisogno di imparare che la mattina, io non sono una brava persona_." (I was sarcastic to her. She needs to learn that in the morning, I am not a nice person) Simona replied, sighing slightly.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Celestica asked in confusion. Both Simona and Romagna did their best not to smirk.

"Us? Well we were just talking about how nice the weather is in Italy this time of year." Romagna replied with a charming smile. Simona snorted suddenly, and when Celestica looked at her with a brow raised, Simona disguised it with a sudden coughing fit.

"Sure you were." Celestica replied, looking at the two Italians with suspicious eyes. "Get ready Simona." Romagna rolled her eyes. Simona complied, not wanting to get on the wrong side of Celestica.

After finally getting her hair to work for her and not against her, Simona put her hair into a bun and let tendrils of black, wavy hair frame her face. She pulled on her school robes and straightened her tie. Simona walked back into the dorm room to see the three girls ready and waiting for her.

As the girls made their way down to the common room, Simona noticed Severus once again stood behind a couch scowling at anyone or anything that happened to be in his eye line at the time. Simona noticed his eyes snapping to her, alongside every other Slytherin in the common room. "_Oh for Merlin's sake_." Simona muttered, slightly annoyed at her new found infamy.

"_Ignorarli. __Ovviamente niente di meglio da fare_." (Ignore them, they obviously have nothing better to do) Romagna added, putting a reassuring hand on Simona's shoulder.

"Yeah, what Romagna said." Celestica added unenthusiastically. Both Romagna and Simona smirked.

Simona walked straight towards Severus who eyed her with suspicion.

"Hey, Severus." Simona said awkwardly. She had already planned out what she was going to say to Severus, thanking him for being so supportive, but as soon as she started, her mind went blank. "About yesterday." Simona started, shifting her feet.

Severus stood stiffly, he wanted to say so much to Simona, about how lovely she looked. How green her eyes are 'Just like Lilly's' he thought. '_No. Not like Lilly_' his mind replied, internally cursing himself. Noticing he was taking a long time to reply, Severus quickly tried to formulate a plausible response. "It's fine." Severus replied tersely. Simona's eyes flashed with hurt, and he felt a pang in his heart. It was just like hurting Lilly. It was the best thing to do, he reasoned. He couldn't open his heart to two people, he just couldn't. He knew that at one point he'd let them both down.

Simona ignored his abrupt response, she knew he didn't care much for idle chatter. "Well I'm going to breakfast now, fancy joining me?" She said trying to sound relatively happy. Severus stopped himself from rolling his eyes at Simona's persistence. Reluctantly Severus agreed, knowing that if he started to ignore Simona straight away, she would realise it. "Yes." He replied unenthusiastically. Simona's green eyes glittered. "Okay, I'll just tell my friends that you'll be sitting with us." Simona said with a glint in her eye. She walked over to the Slytherin girls who were looking at Simona with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"Why are you talking to Snape?" Celestica asked with a look of disdain. Simona frowned at this.

"Because he's my friend. And he was there for me when I needed him." Simona snapped, causing the other girls to look at her with a smidgen of fear. At this point Severus walked up to the small group and scowled. "Guys, this is Severus, Severus this is Celestica, Vicky and Romagna." Simona said amicably, pointing to each girl in turn. The girls smiled and nodded in response, Severus just stared back at them with his cold black eyes.

"We should go now, before all the good food goes." Celestica said as the group fell into an awkward silence.

When they got to the hall, Celestica and Vicky sat next to each other, Vicky sat next to Celestica and Severus and Simona sat beside each other, on the opposite side to the other girls. "I'm starved." Vicky said brightly, grabbing copious amounts of porridge and spooning it into her bowl.

"So, what has everyone got first?" Celestica asked, trying to break the tense atmosphere that was caused by Severus' seething temper.

"We've got Potions, haven't we Sev?" Simona replied, looking at Severus who was reading a large Potions book whilst eating toast. He noticed Simona looking at him expectantly and merely nodded his head before pulling the book closer towards him. Simona sighed in exasperation.

"_Il tuo nuovo amico è tutto sorrisi non è vero?_" (Your new friend is all smiles isn't he?) Romagna asked sarcastically, Simona almost reprimanded Romagna for her comment about Severus when he was sat right next to her, but remembered that since Romagna said this in Italian, he wouldn't have noticed what she had said.

"_Egli non è buono in mezzo alla gente_." (He isn't good around people) Simona replied with an arched brow, trying to keep her cool.

"_Vedo che_." (I can see that) Romagna added with a smirk. Simona saw that they had gained the attention of the other girls, plus Severus who looked at her with inquisitively. Simona shook her head and grabbed the last of the toast, smothering it with sickening amounts of chocolate spread. The girls looked at her with an air of repulsion.

"What?" Simona asked with a mouthful of toast, earning groans of disgust from Celestica, Romagna and Vicky. Severus snorted with amusement and looked back to his book.

"You're disgusting Simona" Celestica laughed, throwing a bit of porridge at Simona from Vicky's bowl. Simona laughed in return and threw back some crusts from her toast. Severus looked at both Celestica and Simona with disdain, he didn't approve of their childish behaviour. Simona smiled innocently at Severus, Severus likened this to a dog trying to appease its owner. Severus actually found this quite amusing, but instead scoffed and scowled down at his book. He found it hard to ignore Simona, who now sighed and frowned down at her plate.

"Hey, Sev. What are you reading about?" Simona asked politely, still determined to get him talking to her.

"The Conjunctivitis Curse." He replied abruptly, his eyes not leaving the page.

"You're not going to use that on any of those Gryffindors are you?" Simona asked, knowing he couldn't resist replying to that.

"I might do, the day's still young." Severus replied, with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"No guesses on who your first victim is going to be." Simona replied, trying to sound casual. Severus looked at her with a raised brow. '_Sirius Black it is then_.' Simona thought, reading his mind.

"Yo, Simo!" Celestica shouted, gaining her attention by throwing a poorly aimed lump of porridge at Simona which missed her and hit Severus square in the face with a SPLAT. The porridge slowly dripped down the side of Severus' forehead, the girls burst into hysterical laughter. Severus' face turned beetroot red, probably out of embarrassment or rage.

"Merlin's beard!" Simona exclaimed, desperately trying not to laugh. She reached to wipe the porridge that was still on Severus' face, but jumped when he batted her hand away quite violently. "Sev, I'm so… Celeste man, what the hell did you do that for?" Simona reprimanded Celestica who could only open and close her mouth, she was laughing so hard she started to wheeze. Severus closed his book, with a loud SLAM and stood up, he marched off out of the Hall. Simona decided to follow after him. "Sev…Sev…slow down, I can't keep up!" Simona said running, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"That's the idea." Severus boomed as he continues his relentless pace. Thankfully, Simona was a fast runner and managed to jog beside him. Severus would find this amusing, if he wasn't so angry.

"Sev, please." She begged, running in front of him and making him stop abruptly. His face was almost contorted with fury.

"Leave me alone." He hissed, trying to push past her, Simona grabbed his arm.

"Oh how the tables have turned." She said with a raised eyebrow. Severus rolled his eyes and tried to get out of Simona's grasp. "Come on Sev, I know what Celestica did was wrong, but she was aiming at me." Simona said calmly, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'd say it was right on target." Severus spat out, looking at the ground, anywhere to avoid Lilly…Simona's emerald green gaze.

"You know that isn't true Sev." Simona replied irritably. She really wanted him to like her new friends.

"Then explain the weird looks, the tense atmosphere. They don't like me, Simona." Severus said, a flash of sadness in his eyes. This confused Simona, '_Why should he care what her friends think of him_?' she thought.

"Sev, for as long as I've known you, you haven't cared what people think about you, what about those Gryffindors? Why do you care what my friends think about you?" Simona asked, concerned.

"Because…" Severus sighed, as he tried to finish his sentence he was interrupted by the appearance of the 4 Gryffindors. '_Well timed, boys'_ Simona thought angrily.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Snivelly Snape…" Sirius said mockingly, James laughed and Remus kept a straight face. "Oh, hey Simona." Sirius said when his eyes locked onto Simona, he blushed slightly and looked at the floor. Severus frowned at this and curled his hands into fists.

"Black." Simona replied tersely. Her expression softened when she looked at Remus' calm honey-coloured eyes. "Hey Remus, have you finished that book?" She asked, a bit more politely.

"Hey Simona, I've almost finished it. Just got past the bit where Lennie kills Curley's wife." Remus replied calmly. The others looked at them both in confusion.

"Oh yeah, I remember that bit. Poor Lennie, he doesn't know his own strength." Simona said with a sigh. Remus nodded at this. They both stood in silence, remembering that chapter.

"If you two are done, I've got a message for Snivellus." James said with a nasty smirk on his face. Severus scowled at him, his lips pressing into a sneer. Simona stepped protectively closer to Severus, so that if James wanted to hex him, he wouldn't have a clear shot.

"And what is that message, Potter?" Simona asked sharply. Tilting her head and feeling anger rise up once again.

"Back off, Simona. I have nothing against you." James replied.

"If you have something against Severus, you have something against me. Now what is it that you wanted to say?" Simona asked with increasing venom, her eyes beginning to darken.

"Simona. It's okay." Severus said softly, just loud enough for Simona to hear. His dark eyes focused sharply on James, who was still smirking. Severus was touched that Simona was willing to sacrifice her new found affiliation with the Gryffindors for him, but didn't want to show weakness in front of them by letting her fight his battles for him. It was the same thing Lilly had done for Severus so many times before he even knew Simona. Their likeness disturbed him somewhat. "Let Potter say what he needs to say." Severus said louder, his voice dripping with contempt.

"Lilly wants you to stop sending her those notes, Snivellus it's creeping her out." James said harshly. Both Simona and Severus flinched at this. Sirius barked with laughter.

"And did Lilly tell you this herself?" Severus replied, an eyebrow raised and his black eyes narrowed.

"No, but if I were her I'd be seriously creeped out. Who would ever want to receive any letters from a greasy git like you?" Sirius said, with a smug smile. James and the mouse-like boy went into hysterics at this. Remus stood still, void of emotion. This was it for Simona, the anger she felt two nights ago was back.

"You little-." Severus started, his face contorted with fury. He was however interrupted by a 5ft2 blur that slapped Sirius in the face and dived at him. She had her left fist raised in the air, about to hit him when she was pulled off by James and Remus. Sirius was lying on the ground shell-shocked. Severus tried his utmost to keep looking fumed at James and Sirius but he was highly amused by Sirius' expression when Simona leapt at him.

"Get off me!" Simona screeched, flailing around in Remus and James' grip who were holding her by her arms in the air, her feet not touching the floor. It was rather comical to watch Simona, her now-black eyes staring at Sirius as he tried to dust himself off and maintain composure.

"Calm down, Scrappy-Doo." James said with a bemused smirk, which only angered Simona more.

"Let her go Potter. Leave us alone." Severus sneered. James and Remus looked at each other and reluctantly let Simona drop to the floor. Simona stepped towards Sirius, which made him leap back with a small squeal. Simona and Severus smirked in unison and the Gryffindors skulked off. "You didn't have to do that, Simona. I can fight my own battles." Severus said condescendingly as if he was lecturing a small child.

"I know, Sev. But you didn't deserve that. What Sirius said was far too harsh." Simona replied, scowling at the earlier comments from the Gryffindors. "Is it true what they said, about you sending letters to Lilly?" Simona added with a small sad smile.

"No." Severus said curtly. As much as he didn't want to lie to Simona, he knew she would believe him. "Potions starts in 5 minutes, we should probably set off." Simona simply nodded at this and the two Slytherin students made their way down to the dungeons.

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know it didn't cover a lot of the day, but I felt the interaction with the marauders was pretty important. Simona really needs to get her temper in check don't-cha think? I tried to put a but more comedy in this, just to make up for the violence in chapter 5. I'll hopefully post chapter 8 tomorrow! Sorry about the inacuracy of the Italian, I only have Google-Translate to rely on. The rough translations are in brackets. xox


	8. A Knight In Slytherin Robes

AN: Hey guys, I am so sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days, I have been completely bombarded with homework this week and I just haven't had the time to upload this. I have struggled a bit to write this too, again, thank you so much for your support. It is appreciated, and I really enjoy reading your reviews. They make me want to continue writing. I'd love to hear what you guys think of the story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER EIGHT; A KNIGHT IN SLYTHERIN ROBES

It was now the last lesson of the day, Muggle Studies. After an awkward Potions lesson, which involved a lot of hateful stares from most of the Slytherins. Simona was glad that she no longer had to deal with the contempt she received from her fellow housemates, as none in the History of Hogwarts had ever taken Muggle Studies at O.W.L., or N.E.W.T. level. Simona dragged her feet into Professor Jennison's classroom and sat at the back by herself.

"Good afternoon class, as part of your third year we will be completing a project based on an aspect of muggle life of your choosing." Professor Jennison said, half-bored. Her light-blue eyes idly scanning the class of eager Hufflepuffs. "Over the years students have done projects such as cooking a meal using muggle appliances, creating their own muggle magazine, it is entirely up to you. You can choose whether or not to work in pairs, if so, write your ideas down. Grab some textbooks if you need them and then hand me your ideas at the end of this lesson. I will then be asking you all about your ideas and decide at that time if they are appropriate." Simona sat up a bit straighter and grabbed a piece of parchment from her bag. She lazily doodled 'Muggle Studies Ideas' in scruffy handwriting and tapped her quill on the parchment, wracking her brain for ideas.

After five or so minutes of nothing, Simona decided to grab a textbook from the back of the class, in doing so she accidentally ran into a Ravenclaw who immediately scowled. "Watch where you're going, Sforza." A girl with obsidian black eyes and dark brown hair snapped as she picked up the textbook that had dropped on the floor. Simona raised an eyebrow at her. "I know what you did to Rachel, you... monster." The Ravenclaw snarled maliciously. Simona closed her eyes, trying not to get herself drawn in.

"I know... that what happened between myself and Rachel is none of your damn business." Simona said quietly, once again adapting the same dangerous tone that Severus used whenever he got angry.

"Ladies, what's the hold up? We have many magical muggle mysteries to research!" Professor Jennison said sarcastically, trying to stifle a yawn. The Ravenclaw smiled at Jennison, which made Simona feel sick. Simona nodded, and sat back down at the back of the class with a scowl on her face. Softly she started singing to herself _'__Oh, a storm is threatening my very life today If I don't get some shelter, Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away'_

At that moment Simona felt as though a muggle light bulb had turned on above her head. _'I'll sing a muggle song._' Simona thought, her quill feverishly scribbling down her new idea. Simona loved muggle music, and was constantly muttering the lyrics to different songs. This was perfect for her. Professor Jennison was skulking around the classroom, trying to look interested in what some of the excitable Hufflepuffs had to say to her. By the end of the lesson, after trying to avoid even more death glares from the Ravenclaw Simona accidentally ran into, Professor Jennison called the class to hand her their ideas. Simona was at the back of the queue, trying to go unnoticed.

"And finally, Miss Sforza. Miss Sforza, what are you thinking of doing for your project?" Professor Jennison asked monotonously.

"I'd like to learn and perform a muggle song, professor." Simona replied, trying not to sound as excited as the Hufflepuffs. Jennison raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting, that's never been done by anyone before." Jennison replied thoughtfully. Simona smiled internally at this, not only was she the first ever Slytherin to take Muggle Studies, she was the first ever student to think of performing a muggle song for their project. A few of the Hufflepuffs who were still gathered around Jennison's desk looked livid, mainly because the majority of their ideas were denied or sneered at.

"Well I like to be different." Simona smirked. Causing the Hufflepuffs to scoff in indignation.

"I look forward to seeing what you come up with over the coming weeks Miss Sforza, you may leave now." Professor Jennison said, waving her hand lazily.

Simona hurried out of the Muggle Studies classroom to go to the Great Hall for dinner. Simona spotted Severus, who was sat opposite Avery and Rosier. She also spotted the girls she shares a room with chatting animatedly. Simona decided to sit with the former, wanting to know what it was Severus was going to say before they were interrupted by the Gryffindors. "Avery, Rosier." Simona said monotonously. Avery and Rosier both nodded in acknowledgement of Simona as she took a space next to Severus, who yet again had a large tome, which he gave all of his attention to.

Simona piled up her plate with food, and sipped from her goblet of pumpkin juice as she watched Severus, fully engrossed in an ageing book entitled 'Curses, Hexes and Unforgivables; The A-Z of Essential Dark Magic' Simona rolled her eyes. He was forever reading, especially about Dark Magic. She had to admire his dedication, even if the subjects he read about scared her. Simona decided not to talk to either Avery or Rosier, she disliked them both, and instead thought about potential muggle songs she would sing for her Muggle Studies project. _'It had to be rock'_ she thought, it was all she ever listened to at home, even her adopted parents liked it. After that thought she was distracted by black eyes staring into her green ones. "Simona, I didn't see you arrive?" Severus asked, confused.

"I got here 15 minutes ago Sev, you were obviously too into your book to notice me arriving." Simona replied with a scoff and raised an eyebrow. Severus blushed at this slightly and looked back down at his book. Simona got out some parchment and her Charms Textbook and started on her homework, 2 full scrolls on the uses, advantages and disadvantages of the Cheering Charm. Simona sighed heavily and started scribbling her essay onto her parchment.

Simona gave up on her essay after completing a scroll and started tapping her quill on the table, she felt bored and wanted to go back up to the common room. "Simona, I'm going back to the common room, are you coming?" Severus said, as he slammed his book shut, as if he had read Simona's mind.

"Yeah sure, Sev. Just let me pack my stuff away." She said politely as she stuffed her textbook and parchment into her worn and tattered brown leather bag. She swung it over her shoulder and nodded at Avery and Rosier, who just stared at her in return. The two Slytherins walked out of the Great Hall down to the dungeons in companionable silence, when Simona realised it was the prime time to ask about what happened the other day. No one was around, and Severus seemed to be in a relatively neutral mood. Simona swirled around and caught Severus' attention. "Sev, can I ask you something?" She said quietly. Severus merely nodded and raised an interested brow. "What were you going to say to me the other day, before those Gryffindors interrupted you?" Simona continued, trying to sound as even as possible, covering up her intrigue.

"Nothing, it's not important." Severus snapped back, blushing furiously. He couldn't tell her, he didn't want to freak her out, by telling her how he felt about her. He was too pre-occupied in his mind during that conversation, trying to block out his feelings for Simona when he slipped. And told her about how he was upset about how her friends were treating him. He had to brush it off, claiming it was not important or it would open up the flood-gates, he wouldn't be able to block out his feelings for her anymore.

"Fine, Sev. It's just I was wondering you know? It could have been important." Simona sighed, she believed him. He would have told her if it was important, wouldn't he? She knew it was silly, but she secretly hoped that he was upset about her friends and how they treated him because he cared about _her_. And he wanted to be accepted by them to be accepted by _her_. Simona internally cursed herself _'Of course he doesn't think that, ragazza stupida (stupid girl)'_ Severus could see the flash of disappointment in her eyes, and felt his heart twinge for her. He brushed it off quickly, _'She probably isn't even interested in you anyway, stupid boy.' _He thought, although he kept his face neutral, unfazed by his thoughts.

"Have you done that Charms homework yet?" Severus asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had seemed to envelop them as they had their own internal monologues.

"Almost, I did half of it during dinner, you might have noticed if you didn't have your nose in that giant book of yours." Simona teased, batting him on the arm playfully. Severus jumped at Simona's unexpected touch and blushed slightly.

"It's a good book." Severus said with a raised brow, cringing slightly at his pathetic comeback. Simona chuckled at this.

"That was weak Sev." She said with a smirk, before laughing again.

"It won't be weak when I try out some of those spells on Black." Severus replied darkly, hatred flashing in his eyes. Simona looked startled at his sudden mood change. She didn't show this outwardly.

"First the conjunctivitis curse, and now you're going to subject him to the A-Z list of hexes and curses, poor git won't know what's coming." Simona said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Severus' rich chuckle reverberated throughout the corridor when they reached the steps. "Ladies first." Simona said with a teasing smile. Severus scowled at her and reluctantly went down the stairs in front of Simona who giggled from behind him.

When they reached the common room, Simona noticed the glares she received from some of the Slytherins. Simona had had enough, she thought now would be a good time to confront Rachel. Simona saw Rachel sat with a group of about 5 Slytherins who seemed to be giving Simona the biggest glares. Simona marched straight towards them, her eyes giving them the same hateful scowl, leaving Severus behind her. They stared back at her, but eventually got disinterested and started chatting amongst each other. "Rachel, could I have a word?" Simona said irritably, still scowling at the people who were sitting with her.

"Why, do you want to hit me again?" Rachel replied trying to look frightened. Simona rolled her eyes at this and tried to reign in her temper.

"No, I want to know why you have been talking about me behind my back." Simona shot back, curling her hands into fists. The group she was with finished their private conversations and turned to look at Simona, causing Simona to become uncomfortable under their gaze.

"People need to know the truth, Simona, that you're a monster. You don't deserve to be in this house. You're a disgrace, a disgrace to Salazar Slytherin." One of the members of the group said, standing up and towering over her. His ice blue eyes boring into hers, full of hatred. Simona closed her eyes, starting to lose control of her building temper.

"This is between myself and Rachel, stay out of it, Nelson." Simona spat out, her emerald green eyes going dark, causing the Slytherin boy to step back slightly.

"Why should he, Italiano? At least he isn't a traitor." Rachel replied with a smug grin. It took all of Simona's strength to prevent herself from pouncing at Rachel. The other Slytherins started to laugh, Simona's mouth turned into a snarl.

"At least I'm not a liar." Simona snapped back, her now black eyes burning holes into Rachel's.

"Those are pretty big words for someone so small." Rachel replied mockingly, standing up and towering over Simona. The Slytherins started to laugh even harder, Simona's face started to burn red with anger, and she could start to feel the same hatred she felt on that fateful night.

"My size didn't stop me from kicking your ass." Simona said through gritted teeth, Rachel stepped closer to Simona, Simona closed her eyes again trying to push out her anger. Simona jumped when she felt a bony hand resting on her shoulder, she turned around to see Severus staring at her, looking mildly concerned.

"If it isn't Snivelly Snape looking out for his blood-traitor girlfriend." Rachel said menacingly, the other Slytherins laughed again. Severus' face flushed red and his eyes snapped to Rachel, narrowing.

"Simona." Severus began with emphasis. "Is not my girlfriend, but she is worth at least a hundred of you. Who do you think you are, telling lies about Simona behind her back, when the only treacherous person I see is you? " Severus snarled stepping in front of Simona protectively. "You attacked Simona, you provoked her and you hexed her friend. Frankly, you deserved what you got, and Simona deserves to be seen as a normal girl who just lost her temper, not the monster YOU make her out to be." He continued stepping closer to Rachel, who could only open and close her mouth.

The whole common room was watching Simona, Rachel and Severus in awe. Severus had never stood up to anyone, for someone else so publicly, he either never did it at all or only ever did so when there were less people around. Simona beamed on the inside, believing for the first time Severus actually cared about her, as a friend. Severus turned to look at Simona who was looking back at him in shock, his hardened expression softened slightly. "Are you okay?" He asked, sliding his hand down to Simona's arm.

Simona could only smile weakly and whisper "Yes, thank you Sev," Severus nodded curtly at this and strode off up the stairs and into his dorm room where he slumped onto his bed and took his robe off, he lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. _'What in the name of Merlin did I just do?'_ he thought to himself_. 'I was supposed to back off from Simona, not give her ideas that I care about her… Even though I do' _He thought as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He sat up and went to the window-sill and sat back down looking out into the stars. _'She could have handled it by herself, I didn't have to march in there like one of those dunderheaded Gryffindors'_ he snarled internally as he thought about his actions. He crossed his legs and sighed. _'She was there for me when I needed her, I guess I was just repaying her kindness._' He concluded as he ran a hand through his hair again. He leaned against the stone wall and smirked slightly when she told Rachel that she could kick her arse. _'It probably isn't wise to mess with a 5"2 Italian.'_ He thought laughing quietly to himself.

After Severus had left, and the Slytherins were still gawping at what had just happened, Simona went up to her room to find Celestica and Vicky sat on Simona's bed with an expectant look on their faces. "What?" Simona asked rather irritably as she looked at them.

"I heard that you stood up to Rachel." Celestica said after a moment of silence, she looked impressed.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Simona replied, becoming uncomfortable under their inquisitive gaze.

"Heard that you threatened to kick Rachel's arse again." Vicky replied with a smirk. Simona sighed and raised an eyebrow._ 'News sure travels fast around here'_ she thought.

"I didn't say that. I just said that my height never stopped me from doing it." Simona said slightly annoyed. One thing she disliked about gossip is that it was usually misconstrued.

"Apparently Snape came to your rescue like some knight in Slytherin robes." Celestica said airily, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"So what if he did, he was just sticking up for me, like a good friend would." Simona said back rather too quickly. Severus did indeed stick up for Simona, but they were making Simona out to be like some 'damsel in distress', and Simona didn't like that.

"Yeah, yeah. Simona and Severus sitting in a tree K-I-S-" Celestica and Vicky started to sing in a childish tone.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Simona yelled, the anger returning to her voice. The two girls were stunned into silence and walked sulkily back to their beds. Simona regretting raising her voice to her two new friends, but she was too tired to deal with their questions, and relentless mocking. She needed to sleep.

After changing into her pyjamas Simona yawned, looked apologetically at the two girls, Romagna had come back whilst Simona was changing and had already fallen asleep. Simona climbed into bed and attempted to fall asleep. Hoping that tomorrow would bring less prying eyes and animosity.

AN: So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have certainly enjoyed writing it, as I do with all chapters. I hope you guys get more of an insight into how Severus feels about Simona, obviously he is very confused at the moment. He does like her, but he is scared he is going to hurt her because of the fact he is in love with Lilly. I think I'll write more interaction between Lilly and Severus in the upcoming chapters, to show their relationship. Please review. I don't want to start begging you guys but telling me what you think really helps with the writing process! A huuge thank you to tigger626, kittyprettypyrde, Sara Konatxe, Tenderheart78, CharlieSinclaire, ThisIsNotSarah and Cassia4u who have reviewed me thus far, you guys ROCK! Just so you know, the song Simona sings in this chapter is 'Gimme Shelter' by the magnificent, British band- The Rolling Stones! xoxo


	9. The Scar

AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated for the past few days, I've been bombarded with homework and I've had little/no time to write. Posting a chapter per day has become near impossible, so I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often as I'd like. I have almost finished the next chapter though, so that should be up either later on or tomorrow. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER NINE; THE SCAR

The next few weeks passed with relative ease, Simona was finally starting to 'get' Transfiguration and the Ravenclaw in Muggle Studies has seemed to leave her alone. She was even getting better at Potions, Lilly let Simona take control over the Babbling Beverage, (which causes the drinker to spout complete and utter nonsense) and she brewed it almost perfectly, both Slughorn and Lilly were extremely proud of Simona, which caused her to blush quite profusely. The taunts from fellow Slytherins had seemed to alleviate, she still got the odd death glare from Rachel, but the others had seemed to realise that Simona was now 'old news'.

However, Simona had started to notice a change in Severus. He was becoming more and more withdrawn, he barely spoke to Simona when they hung out together, and that's when he actually was around for Simona to ask him. He was starting to hang around with Rosier and Avery more and more, and had become friends with Slytherins in their 6th and 7th years. He seemed to have lost weight, he had become even paler and his moods had seemed to go from bad to worse. Only two days ago, Severus got so mad at Simona when she confronted him about his new icy exterior, he grabbed her by her robes and yelled in her face, Simona had never been so frightened.

Simona was now on her way to Charms, where she sat next to Severus. Still shaken up from his violent outburst, Simona decided it was best to not talk to him. He stormed into the classroom 5 minutes late with a thunderous expression. Simona winced, as this was the same expression he had when he yelled at her. Severus scowled as he rummaged through his bag, and threw his equipment on the desk with a loud BANG. Professor Warren stopped his lecture to the class at this and looked at Severus, raising his eyebrow with an annoyed expression on his face momentarily, before continuing to address the class. Simona was trying to concentrate on what Professor Warren had to say, scribbling down notes on her parchment to correspond with what he was saying, but she couldn't help notice a nasty looking cut on the side of Severus' face. Severus noticed Simona's gaze and he covered it with his hair by bringing his head forward and looking down at the desk.

After Warren had finished lecturing the class on 'Aresto Momentum' a spell used to slow down moving objects, he ordered the class into pairs. Simona would be paired with Severus. Simona turned to look at Severus who was still scowling at the desk. Thinking that it would be better to have a relatively normal Severus, than one who would hex anything that moved, she reached out to touch him on the shoulder. As she did so, Severus' head shot up and he recoiled, as if her hands were made of ice, his face contorted into a snarl. "What, do you think you're doing?" He asked, venomously. Simona was taken aback by this.

"Professor Warren just paired us together to work on the Aresto Momentum charm, I thought you were asleep." Simona said quietly, not wanting to provoke him any further. The scowl on Severus' face softened.

"Oh." He merely replied, absentmindedly rubbing the newly-formed scar on his face.

"What happened?" She asked, pointing at the mark on his face. The scowl on his face returned.

"What's it to you?" He snapped back irritably.

"I was concerned." Simona replied with a frown. Not liking the fact he tended to jump straight to anger.

"Well it is none of your concern." He snarled, his right hand tensing around his quill, it looked like it was about to break in half.

"Of course it is my concern, you're my friend and you've been acting strangely." Simona said softly, hoping that this would coax him out of his foul mood.

The other pairings in the class had seemed to stop working on the spell and turned to look at Simona and Severus. He sneered maliciously.

"Now what the hell is that look supposed to mean?" Simona snapped back, starting to get irritated. Before Severus could reply, Professor Warren approached the two of them.

"How are we doing with the charm?" Professor Warren asked, sensing the awkwardness between Simona and Severus who were now both avoiding each other's eyes. Both students huffed in response. "That well huh?" He replied sarcastically. Severus scowled up at Warren, Professor Warren bowed his head and walked off. Simona guessed that Warren had been on the receiving end of Severus' foul temper, and knew like Simona that it was best not to provoke him.

For the remainder of the lesson, Simona and Severus practiced their charms separately, each mutually deciding to take it in turns to stop a falling pillow. Severus had seemed to do it straight away. Simona took a few attempts to hold the pillow in mid-air, but got it before the end.

They both still refused to look at each other, and every so often, Simona could feel Severus' burning gaze on the side of her face, whenever she would look at him his eyes had seemed to refocus on his textbook. Simona gritted her teeth, and got back to writing notes about the Aresto Momentum charm.

The end of the lesson couldn't come quick enough for Simona, it meant that it was the end of the week again and two whole days of no lessons. Simona walked to the Great Hall for supper by herself, Severus stormed out of the classroom as soon as Professor Warren dismissed them. Simona sat next to Romagna and sighed. She put salmon, potato and green beans onto her plate and went into deep thought._ 'Why can't Severus just come out of this mood he's been in for the last couple of weeks, and why won't he tell me what is wrong and how he got that scar?'_ Simona thought as she pushed food around her plate.

"_Cosa c'è di sbagliato?"_ (What's wrong?) Romagna asked, rousing Simona from her thought tunnel.

"Sto bene, sono solo stanco." (I'm good, I'm just tired.) Simona lied, not in the mood for a discussion. Romagna seemed to take that as a cue to not talk to Simona, and instead decided to join in on Celestica and Vicky's conversation. Simona was relieved to not be disturbed and went back to her thoughts. _'I wish Severus would stop hanging around with those Slytherins'_ she thought.

Simona had noted that the older Slytherins were much more aggressive towards the Gryffindors than Slytherins that were younger than them, they would usually sit near the fireplace of the Slytherin common room and spout nonsense about how Hogwarts' standards were decreasing, why all pure-bloods should support this man called 'The Dark Lord' and anti-muggle propaganda. These Slytherins would also sneer at any other student that were muggle-born or were even half-bloods. Simona had been spared from the tirades of the older Slytherins, for now at least.

After Simona had finished eating, she walked back to the common room, where she saw the older Slytherins were gathered around their usual dwelling. Severus was with them, sat on the edge of a couch he seemed to not take any notice of what the blonde haired, blue eyed Slytherin was ranting in front of him. Simona ran straight up to her room and climbed into bed. She just wanted today to be over with.

AN: Sorry for the short chapter, I decided to split the one I'm writing in half, I just felt the chapter was too long as a whole. I'll update as soon as. Thank you so much for your ongoing support, it means so much to me. xox


	10. The Victory Dance

AN: Hey guys, here's chapter 10, I really wanted to post this last night but as always, College work held me back. I'm probably not going to be able to write again until the end of this week, sorry about that but I am doing the best I can with the time that I have. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and reviews are always welcome!

DISCLAIMER; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.

CHAPTER TEN; THE VICTORY DANCE

Sleep came to Simona with ease, as did the next few weeks, it was also the weekend of the first Hogsmeade visit. Simona threw on her black and white Led Zeppelin t-shirt with black skinny jeans and let her unruly hair hang about her face. Simona dawdled down the stairs, and saw Romagna, Celestica and Vicky scowling at her.

After Simona and Severus fell out two weeks ago, Simona became more and more withdrawn, she had lost her appetite, and becoming almost obsessive with her studies. So much so that she barely spoke to anyone. However, during Potions lessons, Simona and Lilly had slowly become friends, Lilly would make Simona talk to her, sometimes to Simona's annoyance, and let Simona sit with the Gryffindors at the weekend. Where Simona would listen to Sirius and James relentlessly mock each other. Sirius still blushed whenever he saw Simona, which made the atmosphere quite uncomfortable, but would quickly cover it up by punching James on the arm. Simona fell out with the other Slytherins mainly because they didn't like the fact Simona was associating with Gryffindors, and because the next few weeks made Simona irritable. Vicky's relentless optimism ground on Simona's nerves, and caused her to snap at Vicky, which alienated Simona from the other girls.

Simona walked straight past the scowling girls and joined the large group of third years who were eagerly waiting outside the doors of the Great Hall for Professor McGonagall, who was standing at the front of the group, looking like her strict self. Simona noticed Severus stood by himself, and fought the urge to join him, instead standing with Lilly, Remus, James, Sirius and the mouse-like boy, who had eventually been identified as Peter. Lilly turned around at Simona's arrival and smiled. "Oh hiya Simona, you're right on time, Professor McGonagall was just about to make us hand our letters in to Filch." Lilly said brightly. Simona looked at Remus who was engrossed in yet another novel.

"Hey Simona." Sirius said quietly, trying to avoid Simona's emerald gaze, she could see a blush once again returning to his cheeks.

"Hello Sirius." Simona replied looking confused at Peter, who was staring back intently at Sirius, as if he was worshipping him.

"So are you looking forward to your first trip of the year into Hogsmeade?" Simona asked Lilly politely.

"Yeah, I can't wait to go to J. Pippin's, I need some more Potions supplies, and I want to see what's in there." Lilly said excitedly. Both James and Sirius looked at Lilly incredulously, as if she had just sprouted another head.

"Lill, what about Honeydukes, or Zonkos? Some of the best shops in Hogsmeade!" James replied, waving his hands around for dramatic effect. "They're _way_ better than a stuffy old Potions shop!" Sirius replied, with the same amount of passion, dramatically extending his words. Peter went into hysterics at this, earning a look of confusion from James. Peter noticed this and awkwardly looked at the floor, perhaps wishing the ground would swallow him up. Lilly looked as if both Sirius and James had both stabbed her in the heart, her face dropped, but quickly covered it up with a fake scowl.

"If you guys just want to blow each other up and eat yourselves to death then be my guest." Lilly replied haughtily. Remus looked up from his book in time to see James and Sirius high-five and smirk at each other.

"What have you guys done to upset Lilly now?" He asked neutrally, raising an eyebrow in interest. James and Sirius exchanged knowing looks.

"Mr Black and I were, frankly astounded by the fact Miss Evans would rather spend her day in Hogsmeade perusing 's rather than Zonkos or the world famous, Honeydukes." James said, doing his best impression of a well-spoken man. Sirius snorted, and did his best not to laugh. Simona was also amused by this, but kept a neutral mask. Remus didn't react but noticed Simona's presence.

"Oh, hello Simona. I didn't see you there." Remus said politely. "Hey Remus, you must not have seen me arrive, seeing as though you looked fully absorbed by that book." Simona replied teasingly. _'Merlin, what is it with that boy and his books?'_ Simona thought. Remus blushed slightly and smiled weakly.

After the Gryffindors and Simona had handed in their forms by a very surly looking Filch, the group made their way down the long winding road to Hogsmeade. It was quite cold outside, and Simona began to wish she had worn something other than her t-shirt and outdoor robe. Sirius and James had taken it upon themselves to give a running commentary at the front of the group, their voices were muffled by the howl of the wind. Peter was eagerly trying to catch up with the two, Lilly was walking with Sirius and James, doing her best not to laugh. It was Simona and Remus who were at the back of the group and were busily discussing muggle literature and music.

"I like your t-shirt, Simona. Where did you get it?" Remus asked politely.

"This? Oh I got it from my father. He was forever going to concerts." Simona replied.

"Well your father certainly has good taste in music, Sirius told me he liked it too, but you can understand why he's being a bit shy." Simona nodded in response, ever since the incident at the Great Hall, Sirius barely spoke to Simona, not out of animosity, but rather out of embarrassment.

It became no secret that Sirius liked Simona, and this became a source of great amusement of James' who would never miss out on an opportunity to rib Sirius for it. "Had... good taste in music, he isn't around anymore." Simona replied with a weak smile. Remus and Simona had gotten pretty close over the past few weeks, she decided it was a good time to tell him about her past, seeing as though no one else was in ear shot of their conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Remus said apologetically, his honey-coloured eyes expressing concern.

"It's okay, I should have told you about him." Simona replied waving her hand, as if it didn't mean anything.

"When did he... die?" Remus asked, trying not to sound awkward.

"He died on August 12th, it's why I didn't start Hogwarts the same year as you."

"That must have been awful, Simona."

"It was at the beginning, but my adopted parents were really supportive. They let me have a chance at going to a muggle school, and when I turned 13 they let me decide between here and staying on in America. I chose here." Simona explained, seeing Remus' face taking in the new information.

"Hey guys, we're here!" James exclaimed as they approached the gates of Hogsmeade, Sirius and James linked arms and skipped around in a circle. Simona, Remus and Lilly all laughed at Sirius and James' childish behaviour as they began sprinting towards Zonkos, pushing each other out of the way as they tried to reach the shop first.

"They're like children aren't they?" Lilly said in exasperation as the group noticed Sirius just beat James to the store, Sirius was doing what he had called in past occurrences, the 'Victory Dance' which included doing the running man, a series of jazz squares and making an 'L' with his hand at James, who looked like he was about to punch Sirius in the face.

"That they are, but they're our children." Remus replied with a smirk. Lilly shrugged her shoulders and the group eventually joined Sirius and James, who were now engaged in some sort of duel, pretending to use their wands as swords.

"Now, now kids. We don't want anyone to have their eyes poked out, wands away. Don't make me turn this village around!" Lilly said with a mock authoritative tone. Both James and Sirius slumped their shoulders and put their wands back in their robes.

"But mum, James started it!" Sirius said with a childish voice. James exclaimed in outrage and crossed his arms. After a few seconds of Lilly's narrowed eyes, James and Sirius burst into laughter and once again high-fived each other. James and Sirius' juvenile pantomime greatly amused Simona, for her it felt great to actually laugh again.

The group entered Zonkos and James and Sirius immediately gasped in awe. The shop was lined wall to wall with different products, of varying sizes, colours and shapes. There were various products such as Frog Spawn Soap, Dungbombs (Which James and Sirius were particularly interested in, stuffing copious amounts into a paper bag) and Sugar Quills.

After almost an hour of Sirius and James methodically combing through the store, desperate to buy as many products as they could, the group eventually left the store.

"Hogwarts won't know what's hit them." James said with a mischievous glint in his eye. It was a few hours later and the group were heading back up to Hogwarts. They had spent the majority of their time in Zonkos and Honeydukes, Simona had bought a few chocolate toads, Sugar Quills and fizzing whizzbees, and struggled to fit them in the pocket of her robes. They had also visited the Hogs Head, where Lilly and Simona each had their first bottle of butterbeer. Simona loved it, and wished they were available in the muggle world.

"Nor will Snivellus." Sirius replied, smirking. Lilly snarled and clipped Sirius around the head. "I mean…Snape." Sirius cowered.

"No." Lilly said sharply, pointing at Sirius as if he was a child. The group continued to walk back to Hogwarts in a companionable silence, Sirius was pretending to pout moodily, James was smirking and Peter was running as fast as his pudgy legs could take him so that he could keep up with the rest of the Gryffindors plus Simona.

When they got back to Hogwarts, Simona and the Gryffindors went straight to the Great Hall, to discuss what they had bought and to have a general conversation. Remus had gotten his book out again and began to read it. Simona remembered she had Herbology homework to do and started on that. Lilly was reading her new Potions book and Sirius, James and Peter were busy gossiping.

"Did you see Snivellus with those Slytherins in Hogsmeade?" James asked, a little too loud, gaining the attention of Simona.

"Yeah, he looked so pleased with himself didn't he?" Sirius sneered.

"Of course he did, he was finally around a group of people that didn't think he was a greasy git." Sirius' rich laughter reverberated around the Hall, a few Ravenclaws looked at the source of the noise. "Did you see the way he looked at Lilly? I don't like it, don't like it one bit." James said shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked. "Well it looked like he was in love with her or something. It made me feel sick."

"Ewww, really? I think we should have a few words with him, don't you think James?" Sirius said, with a malevolent tone to his voice. Lilly was too engrossed in her new book to hear Sirius and James' conversation. Simona heard every word.

"Good idea." James agreed. "He was staring at Simona a lot too, it looked as though he was about to burst into tears." He added with a confused expression. Sirius' face darkened. "What's wrong, afraid ol' Snivelly is going to make the moves on your girl?" James said quickly, with a mischievous smirk.

"Shut up, James. You don't know what you're talking about." Sirius snapped, glowering at James.

"Yeah, James." Peter added a few seconds later. Simona rolled her eyes at this, Peter was forever trying to gain the approval of Sirius._ 'Pathetic.'_ She thought, scribbling the last few lines of her homework. She decided to pretend she was still working on it, so that she could remain inconspicuous, and be able to listen on in the conversation.

"Whatever man. Anyway, Quidditch season is coming up. Reed is starting up practices next Wednesday, are you coming?" James asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, I'm not interested. Dad's trying to get me to focus on my studies this year, as much as I hate doing what he says, he's got a point." Sirius said reluctantly, earning a scoff of indignation from James.

"The first match of the season is us against Slytherin. They've got no chance." James said smugly. Simona looked up at this and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Simona, but you snakes have no chance against the mighty lion." James continued, flexing his biceps.

"Oh really, well catch this!" Simona exclaimed as she threw a balled up piece of parchment, hitting James square in the face before he could react to bat it away. Sirius barked with laughter at this, Simona chuckled too, especially when the bravado which was so evident on James' face had been replaced with a flush of embarrassment. Remus had seemed to notice this and he too was smirking.

"Yeah, yeah. But we have Reiterman, he's a much stronger player than your Irwin." James replied shortly, scowling at Sirius and Remus who were still amused by Simona's impressive aim.

"Hey guys, I'm going back to the common room, anyone coming with me?" Lilly asked, closing her book and looking up at the four boys with varying degrees of amusement on their faces. She seemed to be totally oblivious by the previous events.

"Yeah I am, Sirius, you coming?" James asked, Sirius nodded in response and the two of them got up to leave.

"I'll come with you guys!" Peter said eagerly, so much so he nearly flipped the table over he stood up so fast. Simona snorted at this, but not loud enough for others to hear her.

"Remus, are you coming with?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah sure." Remus replied. "I'll see you later Simona." He said politely, waving her off.

Simona was sat by herself as she re-read her homework, satisfied with her essay she set off back to the Slytherin common room. She couldn't help but think of Sirius and James' conversations._ 'Why was Severus looking at me like that?'_ she thought, secretly wishing she had spotted him, so that she knew whether or not what James said was the truth.

When Simona got back to the common room it was alive with chatter, she could see Romagna, Celestica and Vicky all scowling at her. _'Oh Merlin.' _She thought, she had forgotten about their hostility towards her. Simona settled on sitting by herself in the dark corner of the common room, where hopefully she wouldn't be bothered by anyone. Simona got out her Transfiguration textbook and began reading about the transformation of a hedgehog to a pin cushion. The past few weeks saw Simona improve in Transfiguration and she was keen to keep up with her good work. After an hour or so of intense study, and carefully written notes Simona decided it was probably time to go to sleep.

Her mind still swimming with her newly acquired information and her hand cramping from writing so many notes she went to go to her room when she was stopped by a tall, dark figure.

"Simona… We need to talk."

AN: So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Another cliff-hanger eh? You can't say I don't spoil you :') I'll get the next chapter up as soon as, thank you for your continued support! xoxo


	11. The Quidditch Match

AN: Hey guys, sorry for the small delay, I wanted to upload this earlier today but my internet decided to pack up but... never fear, my new chapter is here! (I should be a poet) Thanks so much for your reviews, and to Panthera-Kaia-Lilly who reviewed my last chapter. Enjoy!  
>DISCLAIMER; I do not own any of the characters, the masterful J.K. Rowling does, I am nothing but a lowly fanfiction writer who borrows them, and returns them back to her literary box after I have finished with them! Simona, Vicky, Romagna, Celestica and other nameless OC's are actually mine though.<p>

CHAPTER ELEVEN; THE QUIDDITCH MATCH

"Simona… we need to talk."

Simona's eyes shot up to the dark figure in front of her, it was Severus. He almost looked apologetic, a vast difference to the same figure who was scowling and yelling at her just a few weeks ago. She felt a mixture of emotions at that point, _'relief; perhaps he wanted to talk to her again, anger; why the hell did he think he could treat me so badly? And confusion; why is he wanting to talk to me?'_ Before too long Simona realised she had not replied yet, Severus became increasingly uncomfortable and began to shift nervously.

"Oh. Okay." Simona said reluctantly.

"Could we go somewhere more private, it's too crowded in here." Severus said awkwardly. Simona nodded and followed him out of the common room.

"Shall we take a walk outside?" Simona asked politely, knowing that they would be less likely to be disturbed once they were out of the hubbub of the common room.

Once they reached outside it was almost dark, and slowly approaching curfew, both Severus and Simona knew they had to make this conversation short, or else face the wrath of an unimpressed and surly Filch and his feline assistant, Mrs. Norris. Simona shivered, there was a cold breeze twisting itself around the trees.

"What is it you wanted to say Severus?" Simona asked, feigning impatience, she didn't want to sound too eager about what he wanted to say to her.

"I wanted to talk about what happened in Charms." Severus said reluctantly. His dark eyes once again unreadable.

"Go on."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Severus said quietly.

"I know you shouldn't."

"I realise now you were genuinely being concerned." Severus said with a hint of annoyance, he had expected Simona to immediately forgive him, he obviously had underestimated her.

"I was." Simona replied shortly. Simona knew she was being difficult, but part of her wanted Severus to make an effort, for him to work for her acceptance.

"And I know that I shouldn't have ignored you, or got angry at you a few weeks ago. I was wrong, and I'm sorry." Severus said through gritted teeth, he didn't appreciate Simona's sudden bout of difficulty, he rarely ever apologised to anyone. He usually thought that the person he upset had deserved it, but he knew that Simona didn't deserve his angry outbursts. Only two people had ever been truly nice to him, and that was Simona and Lilly.

"Are you now?" Simona said with a raised eyebrow.

"Why can't you just accept my damn apology?" Severus shouted, his eyes narrowing with rising anger. Simona realised that now was the time to stop her façade, she just wanted to see if his apology was genuine, she knew that if it wasn't he wouldn't have gotten angry at her, he would have just shrugged it off.

"Sorry, I do. I just wanted to check if it was genuine." Simona said with a shrug of her shoulders. Severus sighed in exasperation.

"Of course it's bloody genuine, why would I lie?" Severus replied shortly, but with less heat to his voice.

"I don't know. But I believe you." Simona said throwing her hands in the air. Severus had to stop himself from smirking. 'Girls' he thought.

"One question." Severus said with an eyebrow raised.

"And what is that question?" Simona replied with a smirk.

"Why have you been hanging around with those Gryffindors? I saw you with them in Hogsmeade."

"Because they're my friends. They were there for me when you weren't." Simona replied with a hint of sadness, trying to see if Severus would feel any more guilt.

Severus winced at this slightly. "James and Sirius said that you were with those older Slytherins. Why are you hanging around with them, Severus?" Simona asked softly.

"That's none of your business." Severus snapped. Simona was startled at this, the heat to his voice had returned. Severus couldn't tell her why he was with those Slytherins, for fear of alienating himself from her.

"It is though, you've changed since you've been with them." Simona said turning to face him, her emerald green eyes sparkling with concern. "I've been worried about you." She added.

The words echoed in Severus' mind 'She worries about me?' he thought, not used to the notion at all. His father certainly never worried about him when he beat him to a pulp, nor did Avery or Rosier worry when Sirius and James felt particularly mean towards Severus. He knew Lilly worried about him sometimes, but she never showed any outward signs, she had never told him personally. Severus had known Lilly since they were 5 or 6 years old, he had only known Simona for just under two months and she was already worried about his wellbeing.

Severus didn't know how to react to this, but for one of the first times in his life he felt warm. Like the ice around his hollow heart had begun to thaw. An awkward silence hung in the air as Severus struggled to think of an apt response.

"We should get back, it's getting close to curfew." Simona said suddenly, breaking the silence as she looked up to the ever darkening sky as it changed from a navy blue to an inky black. For some reason Simona still hadn't gotten over the shock of Severus' apology. She knew him relatively well now and she had seen him get angry enough times to know that he rarely, if ever apologised for his actions.

"That would be…acceptable." Severus replied, struggling to think of an appropriate word to complete his sentence.

The two made their way back down to the dungeons, running past Peeves, Hogwarts' resident poltergeist who took great pleasure in taunting and tormenting students, he also enjoyed annoying Filch. Peeves was busy pelting dungbombs at a frightened Gryffindor first-year who was squealing in fright, trying to get past Peeves so she could go up to Gryffindor Tower. All that could be heard was the echo of Peeves' mirthless laughter. Severus smirked at this in amusement.

When they reached the dungeons, Slughorn had just gone back into his own quarters, much to the two Slytherins' relief. They entered their common room and thankfully it was empty, sans two fourth-years who were busy studying in the corner, their eyes didn't lift from their books when Simona and Severus entered.

Simona and Severus both slumped down on the green velvet couch and heaved a sigh of exhaustion.

"Sev…" Simona said quietly.

"Hmm?" Severus replied sleepily trying to stifle a yawn.

"I'm glad we're friends again."

"As am I." Severus said sleepily. He rested his head back on the couch and his eyes slowly closed.

Simona sat quietly for a while, enjoying the silence of the now empty common room. Her eyelids became heavier than lead, and she decided to just rest her tired eyes momentarily.

When Severus woke up, light was filtering through the small window at the top of two of the stone walls. Severus became aware of a weight pressing on his right shoulder, his black eyes darted down to see a sea of unruly, inky black hair resting on his shoulder.

He could hear Simona's slow, even breaths, which told him she was still asleep. Her legs were curled up on the sofa and she had her hand resting on Severus' arm. Severus didn't know what to do, he could get up and run the risk of waking up Simona, and he knew from experience that she wasn't a morning person… Or he could stay where he was and run the risk of being tormented by the other Slytherins who would surely be coming down to the common room for breakfast at some point.

He decided on gently waking her up, which meant she was less likely to bite his head off. "Simona." He said softly, lightly shaking her shoulders.

"Mmm…Sev?" She said sleepily as her eyes fluttered open, seeing Severus' hooked nose, greasy hair and black eyes just inches from her own.

"It's morning Simona, you fell asleep."

"Oh." Simona mumbled. "Whatimesit?" She muttered, still not fully awake.

"About time you woke up." Severus said sarcastically, minus a sneer. Simona would have laughed at this if she wasn't so tired.

"Okay, okay." Simona replied, stretching and yawning. She got up from the couch and almost fell back down. Severus quickly caught her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Thanks." She mumbled.

The two Slytherins eventually went to breakfast, after they both changed and Simona managed to get her hair into a bun. Simona and Severus sat together in the Hall, after Simona reluctantly persuaded Severus to join her. Both of them were busy reading Charms textbooks and picking at their breakfast. They never spoke unless it was Simona asking a question about what they were reading and Severus replying curtly.

That week went quite quickly, and with ease. Severus seemed to stop snapping at Simona and his overall mood towards her was not as curt as he usually was with her. They'd spend most of their time studying. Severus even began indulging in idle chatter, as much as he abhorred it.

Simona hadn't thought of what song she was going to perform for Muggle Studies, she was now allowed full control over brewing in Potions and Professor Slughorn was impressed with her progress. Romagna, Celestica and Vicky even stopped looking at Simona with such contempt, more disappointment and a weak dislike.

Simona's mood had improved slightly too, she was eating better, and sleeping. Simona still had time to talk to the Gryffindors, when Severus wasn't looking. Things had seemed to improve miraculously since Severus and Simona had made friends again.

Time barely passed before the two of them were stood in the stands, waiting for the start of the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Both Simona and Severus had their Slytherin scarfs wrapped around their necks and were shivering, the wind seemed quite relentless that day. However, they didn't have to stand shivering in the cold for long, the Slytherin team dressed in robes of emerald green and silver had entered the pitch, followed by the Gryffindors dressed in red and gold.

The match had started before Simona had realised what had happened, she didn't know much about Quidditch, only what Severus had told her which was basically 'Two teams of seven players trying to kill each other for points' Simona snorted at his explanation and watched the players whizz around on their broomsticks. A few of the Slytherins were shouting taunts at the Gryffindor players, especially James. Simona couldn't make out what they were saying but she did hear one seventh-year boy yell some creative expletives.

Simona tried to disguise her delight when James scored for Gryffindor, a sea of disgust and annoyance swept throughout the Slytherin stand as the Gryffindors roared with delight. Severus snarled and stamped his foot impatiently on the hard wood of the stands. However, the Slytherin's disgust didn't last for long as the Slytherin chaser hit back with a rather spectacular flourish and gained ten points for Slytherin.

The match became brutal, bludgers were smacked everywhere, and one of the Gryffindor beaters nearly fell off their broom after a rival beater thwacked the bludger particularly hard at their face. A few Slytherins were chortling with laughter at this, conversely the Gryffindors were exclaiming in indignation. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and began shouting furiously at the Slytherin chaser. It seemed a penalty was given to Gryffindor. Severus muttered expletives under his breath, claiming the accident was the Gryffindor's 'own bloody fault.' Simona wrapped her scarf more tightly around her neck and watched as James who was scowling at the Slytherin keeper readied himself for the penalty. The audience withdrew into an expectant silence as James took the penalty. The quaffle went screaming towards the keeper who managed to bat it out of the way with a bored expression, mocking James, who now had a scandalised expression on his face. It was almost as if time slowed down to a crawl as the students reacted.

The whole of the Slytherin stand (Including Simona) broke out into tumultuous applause, the Gryffindors had seemed to simultaneously bury their head in their hands and refused to look up at the players on the pitch who had the definition of disappointment on their faces.

"Poor James." Simona muttered to herself. Unfortunately it was loud enough for Severus to hear, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Simona smiled weakly and looked back at the game.

After another 30 minutes of rather brutish game-play. Slytherin was winning 70-60 to Gryffindor. Simona was starting to get rather impatient standing in the cold, and rubbed her hands together in an attempt to get some warmth. She didn't have to wait too long however when she noticed the Slytherin seeker diving towards a golden ball. 'He's found the snitch!' Simona thought excitedly, she was looking forward to mocking James when they next saw each other. Severus had seen this too, and had a mocking smirk on his face.

However, they were not alone in seeing the snitch. The Gryffindor seeker was diving towards the snitch too. The audience was shocked into silence, The Gryffindor seemed to edge in front of the Slytherin, knocking them quite violently out of the way and caught the snitch in their hands. It was all over. Gryffindor had won.

The crowd erupted, the Gryffindors were howling with delight as their players did a victory lap around the pitch, punching their fists into the air. The Slytherins were yelling expletives and snarling at the Gryffindors. Severus marched off down to the common room, with Simona struggling to keep up with his angry strides.

"Sev...come on...it was just...a game." Simona ran after him, breathing heavily. Severus turned around suddenly, Simona didn't stop quick enough and collided with his chest.

"I am aware of that. I thought it would be sensible to leave before the crowd got too large." Severus said with a raised eyebrow as Simona stepped back. She felt like hitting herself in the face, coming to terms with the fact that Severus was now more in control of his temper. He didn't fly off the handle at minor things anymore.

"Oh, sorry." Simona muttered.

They were about to go down the stairs to the dungeons when they were faced with several large Slytherins who were blocking the stairs, one of the larger Slytherins stepped out in front of the small crowd. They were all sneering at Simona and Severus.

AN: So there you have it, another cliffhanger.. I think I'm addicted to them, as poor as they are! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I shall update as soon as College work allows. xoxo


	12. The Forgotten Homework

AN: Sorry for the gap between updates, I've decided to re-write this part of the FF. I've taken out the part with the contract because I felt Simona and Severus were too young to deal with such a prospect as signing their life away, I have kept it for future reference though. I hope you enjoy this re-written chapter. I felt the Marauders were being left out.

DISCLAIMER; Simona is mine, the rest are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling

CHAPTER TWELVE (RE-WRITTEN) ; THE FORGOTTEN HOMEWORK

"Who have you got there Snape, your new girlfriend?" The Slytherin at the front of the group said with a sneer, the boys behind him chortled.

"Shut up, Mulciber," Severus muttered, his face starting to burn in embarrassment. Simona raised an eyebrow at 'Mulciber'

"Not another mudblood is she Snape, you seem to have a bit of an obsession with those," Another voice from the group shouted, Simona started to scowl. They were obviously talking about Lilly. Simona felt she was coming on with another bout of 'Gryffindor-itis' and stepped in front of Severus.

"I'm a pure-blood if you must know," Simona said sharply, doing her best impression of Severus' drawl.

"Ah, it seems your tastes have improved Snape," Mulciber said with what he thought was a charming smile. Simona rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. Severus didn't say anything to this and his eyes were as if they were stuck to the floor, muttering various curses under his breath.

"What's it to you, Mulciber? What would you have said if I was a muggle-born?" Simona asked curtly, transferring her weight to her right leg, so she had her hip sticking out in an authoritative stance.

"I would question the Sorting Hat, no mudbloods should ever be in Slytherin. Nor should they be at Hogwarts," Mulciber said vehemently. The group murmuring in response. Simona was sickened.

"Jealous are we, Mulciber? That muggle-borns are more likely to be better witches or wizards than you?" Simona snorted.

"You take that back." Mulciber spat, grabbing for his wand. Simona didn't flinch. She hated blood-supremacists.

"You do know one of the best Potions students at Hogwarts is a muggle-born." Simona said as if she was discussing the weather, whilst absentmindedly adjusting her robes. Severus' eyes left the ground at the inference of Lily.

"It's only because they stole the powers from another wizard." Mulciber said hotly, to more murmurs of agreement from the other Slytherins. Simona laughed mirthlessly.

"That is rubbish and you know it, Mulciber! A person cannot just simply, steal magic. They were born with it," Simona growled, her hands curling into fists.

"Now now, no need to get antsy Italiano," Mulciber sneered, the group laughed in response.

"Simona, come on," Severus said quietly, so only Simona could hear. Simona nodded and the two walked off leaving the other Slytherins behind. Simona could hear their jokes and hyena-like laughter fade as herself and Severus made their way down to the dungeon.

"How do you know them?" Simona asked as they reached the common room.

"It's not important," Severus said, obviously not wanting to go into a discussion about what had happened. Simona was going to question him further, but the Quidditch Match had tired her out somewhat.

"Okay, whatever," Simona said waving her hand. "I'm going to sleep, you coming too Sev?" Simona asked as she yawned loudly.

"Yes," Severus said reluctantly, he wanted to study before he went to bed but came to the conclusion that it would be a wise idea to stay away from those older Slytherins.

The two Slytherins made their way up the stairs to their dorms, both weary from the day's events.

"Night Sev," Simona said, smiling weakly as she went into her dorm. Simona once again ignored the sneers she got from her old friends and climbed into bed.

Severus walked into his dorm to see Avery and Rosier fast asleep. 'Thank Merlin,' he thought. He barely spoke to his dorm mates anymore, he spent a lot of his time with Simona. Not that he wasn't complaining, after his and Simona's fall out a couple of weeks ago he felt himself slip, he started hanging around with Mulciber and the older Slytherins and almost made one of the biggest mistakes of his life, he blocked this out of his mind though. He would never tell Simona how he knew those Slytherins. Now that he was friends with Simona again he felt a lot better about himself, he was able to laugh again.

He climbed into bed after getting changed and shook his head, he didn't love Simona though. He enjoyed her company, he even looked forward to being around her, but he knew that his heart belonged to Lily. She had taken it off him the first time they met when they were children. His heart sunk a little whenever he saw her, especially when she was around James. Severus' felt relief at the fact that Lily had told Severus many times that she didn't care for James, but only as a friend. It gave him hope, hope that one day she would love him the way he loved her. Sighing slightly, Severus snuggled down into his sheets and fell asleep, his heart thrumming away at the thought of Lily.

The next few weeks went with a breeze, Simona had finally gotten the hang of all of her lessons and was starting to get A's and E's in her essays and practicals in each lesson. She had finally come up with a decision as to what song she was going to perform for Muggle Studies and she spent a lot of her time practising with her guitar in the Muggle Studies classroom.

One subject Simona didn't expect to have an aptitude for was Potions. She was now performing so well at making different brews that she rivalled Lily. Slughorn had even invited Simona to become part of the Slug Club, much to Severus' amusement. He did find it cruel however, that Simona was becoming as smart as Lily in Potions, 'Just another similarity between the two' he thought. 'It doesn't mean they are exactly the same.'

However Simona's new found knack for magic didn't quite extend to Transfiguration. She found it extremely difficult to transfigure a pillow into a throw cushion, she claimed they were 'the same thing anyway' and received a detention by an irritated Professor McGonagall.

Simona was sat with the Gryffindors, it was a Saturday which meant no lessons, Severus was studying in the library. Simona decided it was best to just leave him to it.

"So Simona, how's things with Snivellus?" James asked with a wink. Simona rolled her eyes, ever since she had begun hanging around the Gryffindors she got a lot of abuse from James about Severus.

"I don't know, how's things with Lily?" Simona replied with a question, returning James his wink. James blushed slightly at this. Simona knew that James had wanted to ask out Lily since first year, but he had never mustered up the courage, Simona found this ironic, seeing as though he was a Gryffindor. Sirius barked with laughter and clapped James on the shoulder.

"She got you there mate," Sirius said with a grin. James scowled at him and shovelled cereal down his throat. Remus was once again reading, and Peter was eagerly watching the conversation. Lily wasn't with the group, she was with some of her other friends and their girlish laughter could be heard from the opposite end of the table.

Sirius was not so shy around Simona any more, he had instead proceeded to date half of the girls in Hufflepuff, claiming they were 'only too willing to date this piece of action' and that the girls in Gryffindor were a bit too 'close to home.'

"So the Hogsmeade weekend is coming up next week, do you want to join us?" Remus asked Simona, closing his book and looking at her.

"Sure, I'll tell Severus that I'm coming with you," Simona replied with a smile. Severus was never into Hogsmeade, he claimed it was a 'colossal waste of time.' Simona enjoyed her time around the Gryffindors, they never failed to make her laugh.

"Lily's not coming with us, she's going with her friends," James said sourly.

"Well it'll be a lad's weekend then," Sirius said cheerfully. Simona frowned at Sirius and raised a brow.

"Excuse me?" She asked in mock indignation.

"Oh yeah, Peter's coming too," Sirius said, pretending he had forgotten about his mouse-featured friend. Simona couldn't help but laugh at this, Peter nearly exploded when Sirius said his name, she found that more amusing than being called a boy.

"Have you done the homework Slughorn set us?" Remus asked when the group had stopped laughing at Sirius' comment.

"Yeah," Simona replied, she had done it the night it was set. It was one of the only ways to get Severus to talk to her after school hours.

"What homework?" Sirius asked with a puzzled expression. Simona rolled her eyes at this, he would have probably been hanging around with one of his Hufflepuff girls.

"The essay on the different uses of bicorn, it's due later on today," Remus replied with a tone of urgency in his voice.

"Now why on earth would Sluggy set a piece of homework that was due on the weekend?" Sirius asked in indignation.

"To get us to actually do the homework," Simona said with a smirk. Sirius did well at Hogwarts, but he was bad at handing in homework on their deadlines.

"This is a breach of our rights. We should campaign about this," Sirius said dramatically.

Both Remus and Simona rolled their eyes. Sirius was such a drama queen.

"I guess I'd better get up to the library if I want to get this essay done," Sirius sighed, speaking with less gusto after the group lapsed into silence.

"I'll come too!" Peter said eagerly, grabbing his bag and looking excitedly at Sirius.

"Anyone else?" Sirius asked, trying not to show his disappointment in doing work on a Saturday.

"May as well," James said sulkily.

"Yeah I will too," Remus said picking up his belongings.

"Simona?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah okay, I need to practice Transfiguration," Simona said in resignation. She really wanted to get better at transforming a quill into a matchbox.

The Gryffindors and Simona walked up to the Library and sat at one of the large wooden tables. Simona noticed Severus was sat at the back of the Library, holding an extremely large tome.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I will have the re-written thirteenth chapter done later on today or tomorrow. Bear with me! Please R&R to tell me whether or not I've made the right decision! xoxo


	13. Slytherin VS Gryffindor

AN: Wotcher everyone, I said I'd be updating this pretty quickly, so here's the next chapter. Don't say I don't spoil you! Thanks for the continued support, I've been watching with pride as the views of my Fanfictions are increasing, so I didn't want to postpone this update any longer than necessary.

DISCLAIMER; All characters other than Simona belong to J.K. Rowling

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (RE-WRITE) ; SLYTHERIN VS GRYFFINDOR

"Look, there's Snivellus," Sirius said with a smirk, pointing to Severus.

"Leave him alone, he's studying," Simona said in annoyance. Sirius didn't respond to this and got out some parchment and begun his essay.

"I wonder what he's studying," Sirius muttered, loud enough for the group to hear.

"I don't think that's really important," Remus said, his eyes never leaving his book.

"I bet it's how to stop his hair from being so greasy," James replied, his mood obviously brightening if it involved insulting his arch nemesis.

"Good one James," Sirius said snorting with laughter. Simona's grip around her want tightened, she tried to focus on her Transfiguration work.

"Or it could be how to stop being such a git," Peter said eagerly. James and Sirius laughed weakly, Peter looked ready to implode with pride.

"It could just be research for our Defence Against The Dark Arts homework that's due in on Monday," Simona said firmly, her eyes snapping to look at Sirius and James.

"Crap," Sirius said. "I forgot all about that," He said smacking his head with his hand.

"Now there's a surprise," Remus said sarcastically from his book. Simona laughed at this, and successfully transfigured her quill.

"You know what, I'm gonna go over to him," James said standing up.

"Good idea James, I don't like the sight of him," Sirius said through gritted teeth. Simona sighed in exasperation, she never understood the depth of their hatred for Severus. They only had to look at him to be riled up into a frenzy.

"Tell me, what has he done to you today?" Simona asked stepping in front of the two Gryffindors.

"He's breathing," James snarled.

"Just leave him alone, he's not doing anything to you. Sit back down and do your homework," Simona scolded. Unfortunately, their scene had gained the attention of Severus, whose eyes lifted from his book and immediately narrowed at the Gryffindors.

"Look at him, narrowing his eyes at us. Who does he think he is?" Sirius said angrily.

"Stop it, you're behaving like school children," Simona said desperately. She didn't want another fight between her friends.

"We are school children," James said sternly. Severus had closed his book and he stood up. 'Oh Merlin,' Simona thought to herself. She could barely handle James and Sirius when they were angry, but she couldn't pacify Severus when he got angry.

"Oh here he comes, greasy hair blowing in the breeze," Sirius said, rolling the sleeves of his robes up as Severus approached the Gryffindors.

"Remus, come on," Simona said, throwing a look at Remus who wasn't doing anything.

"Fancy joining the party Snivellus, or are we enjoying the view far away where nobody can see you," James said with a smirk. Sirius barked with laughter and Severus' eyes narrowed even more.

"I was wondering what you were staring at," Severus said with his low, dangerous tone. Simona panicked, she was in the middle of three angry people squaring off to each other and she was dwarfed by all of them.

"I have no idea, but it's staring back at me," Sirius snarled.

"Come on guys, enough. You're being stupid," Simona said, throwing her arms in the air.

"Stay out of it Simona, it has nothing to do with you," Severus said, his impossibly black eyes boring into Simona.

"Sev, please. Sirius, James, leave him alone," Simona pleaded, her eyes travelling to Severus, James and Sirius in turn. All three of their gazes were firmly fixed on each other.

"So I hear you're still writing letters to Lily," James said with venom. Simona raised an eyebrow of confusion at Severus. He never told her about that.

"What's it to you, Potter?" Severus snapped back, ignoring Simona's pleas.

"I don't want to warn you again, Snape. Leave her alone,"

"Or what?" Snape questioned, his eyes still narrowed.

"Or else I hex you into the middle of next week that's what," Sirius snarled, stepping forward and pointing his wand at Severus.

"Feeling brave, now you've got your guard dog, beside you?" Snape replied, putting emphasis on the word dog as he looked at James. Sirius' face reddened and James' scowl deepened.

"I'd be careful what you say, Snivellus. We don't want another embarrassing incident again do we?" James said through gritted teeth.

"What does he mean by that Sev? And why did you say dog?" Simona asked in bewilderment.

"That's not important," Severus bit out irritably.

"Poor Severus, doesn't want to tell all about the time he got denied by Lily for last year's Yule Ball?" Sirius said mockingly.

"Come on Sirius, that's not fair," Simona said with a frown. She was interested in what happened, but it was unfair to announce it in public. Their scene had now gained the attention of everyone in the library.

"Enough with the commotion, the lot of you. Or points will be deducted," Said Madam Pince, the School's librarian as she walked over to James, Sirius, Severus and Simona.

"I'm sorry, I was just telling Severus that he should keep his voice down," Sirius turned to Madam Pince, flashing the same smile which probably got him all of those Hufflepuffs.

"Good, well. Don't raise your voices again," Madam Pince said, blushing slightly as she scuttled off to serve a student who was at the front desk.

"Let's go James, I'm sure Snivellus has a lot of explaining to do," Sirius smirked as he walked away, James marched off with him. Peter ran after them and Remus smiled apologetically to Simona and Severus as he went with the Gryffindors.

"I'm guessing you'll be wanting an explanation," Severus said reluctantly as they both sat down at the closest table.

"Yeah," Simona replied. Her mind was still swamped in Severus' argument with the Gryffindors.

"Every year at Hogwarts, a Yule Ball is hosted. I really wanted to ask Lily to come with me, I built up the courage to ask her and she said no," Severus said quickly, as if he was in pain.

"Is that it?" Simona asked with a raised brow.

"Yes. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway, Black just wanted it to look like a massive incident so we would fall out again," Severus said, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Why would he want to do that?" Simona asked in confusion.

"I'm not too sure, it's probably because those Gryffindors like hanging around with you and they feel threatened by me. They must have seen how our argument affected you." Simona gulped. It was true, she was pretty torn up by their disagreement. Simona had really gotten along with the Gryffindors, she called them her closest friends, after Severus of course.

"And why did you call Sirius a dog?" Simona asked.

"You'll find out, as much as I despise Black, it's not for me to tell you," Severus said, trying to think of a reason why he was staying quiet.

"Okay," Simona said with a sigh, thinking she would ask Sirius about that later.

"Why didn't you tell me about sending letters to Lily?" Simona asked after the pair fell into an awkward silence. Severus spluttered slightly and his face turned red.

"Irrelevant," Severus said eventually, his eyes avoiding Simona's.

"You can't do that," Simona said irritably. "You can't just go from being willing to tell me about what was said, to just completely shutting me off."

"It's-it's private," Severus stuttered.

"No, I'm not accepting that," Simona said, the heat in her voice rising. His sudden non-cooperation annoyed and confused Simona.

"You won't understand," Severus said in a quiet voice, feeling uncomfortable under Simona's darkening glare.

"I will, you're my friend. Now tell me, why are you sending those letters to Lily?"

"No, I can't say,"

"Sev, come on. Tell me!"

"Not here," Severus said after a thirty second silence.

"Fine, we'll go outside and you can tell me there," Simona replied sharply. She didn't want to be so harsh to Severus whilst he felt uncomfortable, but she knew that was the only way to get information out of him.

The two Slytherins made their way outside into the harsh winds of late November. It was becoming dark, and they shivered in unison as a particularly strong bluster of air ripped past them. They sat down under a large tree and Simona turned to face Severus who was still avoiding eye contact.

"Well?" Simona asked expectantly.

"You'll probably be upset if I told you," Severus muttered. He wasn't too sure as to the extent of Simona's feelings for Severus, so he assumed, by the way she acted around him that she felt for him the way he felt for Lily. He didn't know that his assumption was only somewhat correct.

"I promise I won't, please Sev." Simona knew that Severus liked Lily, she wasn't bothered about that. The truth was Simona did like Severus. A lot, but she didn't love him, yet. It still wounded her slightly whenever he mentioned her or looked at her with forlorn, like he usually did whenever Lily was around.

"Are you sure?" Severus asked quietly.

"Yes,"

"I wrote those letters to Lily because…" Severus felt his throat close up. He was too nervous to see how Simona would react to what he was telling her.

"Yes?" Simona repeated.

"Because I love her," Severus croaked out.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It does mean that it will be a few days before I update again because of the fact I updated this thing so quickly. Please check out my other Fanfictions that are on my profile. I really think they are all starting to come together. I hope to speak with you all on these fanfictions, I will be trying to upload two new stories in the next few days for competitions I have entered. When I've put them up please read and review them. The publicity on it may help me to win them! xox


	14. Second Best

AN: Hello everyone and a Merry Christmas..Eve to you all! I am SO sorry I've neglected this story for a while, Blood Ties, my Young Dracula fic is being a bit easier to write at the present time so I have been paying that one a bit more attention. Never fear though, I have re-gained my writing mojo for this one so hopefully my next chapter won't be too far away. Again, sorry! I hope you can forgive me, and enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMER; All that is good and awesome about HP is owned by the amazing J.K. Rowling. The OC's belong to your's truly.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN; SECOND BEST

Simona nodded, not too sure what to say. She knew it was coming, but she never knew that she would feel like a dagger had ripped open her heart when Severus said it. She did know that Severus felt very strongly about Lily, that part was obvious, but she didn't know he loved her. She felt she had a chance to perhaps make him feel that way about her. She internally chided herself, she had only known Severus for a couple of months and now she was acting like a crazy person.

"And you are okay with that?" Severus asked reluctantly, after noticing that Simona had not replied.

"Yes, of course," Simona lied. Now was not the time to show her true feelings towards him.

"Good," Severus replied, feeling slightly deflated. As much as he thought it selfish, part of him wanted Simona to tell him that it was not okay, that she liked him too. Severus rolled his eyes internally_ 'How selfish of me' _he thought. _'It's not enough that no one likes me, but I automatically assume that anyone who shows a scrap of kindness towards me is in love with me?'_

"Is that all you've got to tell me?" Simona asked, hoping that there wasn't anything more to the Lily debacle.

"That is all," Severus replied. Standing up and looking back towards Hogwarts. It was getting colder outside.

"Okay," Simona said, shrugging her shoulders and standing up too.

"We should go back in, it's too cold," Severus said, shivering slightly. Simona nodded and followed him back into the dungeons.

"I'm going to bed now, I'm tired," Simona muttered to herself as she left to go up to her dorm. She walked straight up the stairs without as much as a backward glance.

Unfortunately, for the next month or so Simona and Severus had seemed to drift apart. As much as Simona tried to prevent it from happening, she couldn't get used to the fact Severus was in love with Lily. He had also become more snappy and irritable, the Gryffindors had caught on to the fact Simona and Severus were not around each other anymore and saw it as an opportunity to bully him with more venom. Simona was used to Severus' volatile attitude, but that coupled with the fact she was struggling with her unrequited feelings, she couldn't handle it.

Simona had been pushed towards the Gryffindors again, and had really striked up a friendship with Remus in particular, relations were a bit patchy between herself and James and Sirius. She felt stretched as they obviously didn't like Severus very much, and vice versa. She tried to keep a neutral stand, but at times felt herself swaying to one side.

It was a day before Hogwarts would be breaking up for Christmas and Simona was sat alone for breakfast in the Great Hall. Severus was sat with Rosier and Avery, Simona refused to look at him. The separation between Simona and Severus caused Simona to become a bit more hardened towards him.

Simona wasn't going back to her parents for Christmas, and decided that staying at Hogwarts would enable her to get more work done. Ever since she started to get better grades in her lessons, she had begun to show her true Slytherin-self. She was absolutely hell-bent on becoming the best in each of her lessons, even Transfiguration.

That night was also the Yule Ball. Simona didn't give it much thought as she was too pre-occupied with her studies and staying away from Severus. She wasn't looking forward to the event, however last week Remus asked her to accompany him, and after much consideration and encouragement from her adopted parents via owl, she agreed.

The Great Hall was buzzing with excited chatter, mainly from the female students. Professors were busily hanging up the decorations for the evening and Mr Filch was red in the face scolding a 2nd year Hufflepuff who accidentally knocked one of the decorations down.

Simona played with her food, she had lost her appetite again. After rather creatively manoeuvring the bacon to look like some sort of meaty fortress, Simona left the table to go to the library. She grabbed a table that was furthest away from the excited chatter which seemed to have followed Simona from the Great Hall.

Rolling her eyes at the girls, the majority of them from Hufflepuff she opened a large tome about Transfiguration, she was desperate to get better. She had noticed a pattern, Gryffindors were usually the best at Transfiguration, whilst Slytherins had a natural flair for Defence Against the Dark Arts. She wanted to change this. Scanning the pages closely and noting down any key ideas, Simona got caught up in the text and failed to notice several hours had past.

Rubbing her eyes and stretching in her chair, she noticed a pair of black eyes staring down at her.

"Sev," Simona said in surprise.

"Simona, I," Severus spluttered, going red in the face. Simona sat up straight in her chair and folded her arms and legs. _'This is going to be interesting' _she thought.

"Well then, out with it," Simona said sharply. The Slytherin in her knew he was only here talking to her because he was after something.

"The Yule Ball," Severus started, trying to find the words.

"Yes," Simona said impatiently.

"Well, I was wondering,"

"Go on,"

"If you would go,"

"Yes."

"To the Yule Ball with me," Severus finally spluttered out, his eyes avoided Simona's.

"What?" Simona asked in shock.

"You know I don't like repeating myself," Severus muttered.

Simona rolled her eyes and stood up. She knew exactly why he asked her, she heard he had already asked Lily, James told her.

"Last resort am I?" Simona hissed.

"What- I?" Severus replied in confusion.

"I know that you got turned down by Lily. How she told you she was already going with James," Simona said angrily.

"That's not."

"Don't lie to me," Simona said tersely, her irises become as black as Severus'.

"Well I-"

"James told me, Sev. Do you honestly believe I am that stupid?"

"No I-"

"Go away Sev, I'm going with Remus if you didn't know already. At least he actually wanted to go with me,"

"I do Simona I just-"

"I don't want to hear it. Just leave me alone," Simona snarled, before storming out of the library.

"Simona!" Severus shouted after her, cursing inwardly Severus slumped down in the chair Simona had just sat on. He ran a hand through his jet-black hair. _'Damn'_ he thought.

As disbelieving as it seemed, Severus did genuinely want to take Simona to the ball. Granted, he should not have asked Lily first, but he didn't want to waste the opportunity to do so, lest she agreed. He knew that himself and Simona were not on the best of terms, that was partly his fault, but he thought that if he went to the Yule Ball with her they would be friends again. As much as he despised to show any signs of what he believed to be weakness, he knew Simona and Lily were his only friends. Now that he had lost Simona, he wasn't too sure what to do anymore. He was terrified of losing Lily, although part of him knew that was imminent. Keeping Simona as his friend was the best shot he had.

Simona sprinted out of the library and sat by herself on the seventh floor, she wasn't too sure why she had settled there, but she was out of breath and still very angry. _'How dare he make me feel like I'm second best,' _she thought angrily to herself. _'He probably only asked me because Lily said no,'_ she thought.

After sitting in silence for at least half an hour, Simona decided she should start getting ready for the ball. She walked back to the Slytherin dorms and laid her formal robes out on her bed. They were emerald green and silver, her parents bought her them out of excitement. They thought the colour suited her, and were unaware they were Slytherin's house colours. _'Great'_ she thought as she looked at them, _'I couldn't look any more Slytherin if I tried. That's going to go down well with a Gryffindor.'_

She grabbed a towel and took a quick shower, all whilst ignoring her still-scowling dorm mates. She had to admit she was impressed at how long they could keep a grudge. After the shower she padded back into the dorm after drying her hair and body by magic.

Simona twisted her hair up into a formal bun, and after battling with her unruly hair to cooperate she pulled on her robes and collapsed on to her bed in exhaustion. She wasn't in the mood to go to the Yule Ball now, however she didn't want to let down Remus.

After trying to apply a conservative amount of make-up and choking on her mum's perfume, Simona was ready. She was about to walk out of the dorm when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Celestica, Romagna and Vicky looking back at her.

"Simona we-" Vicky started.

"We're sorry, I guess we shouldn't have stayed mad at you for so long," Celestica said, finishing Vicky's sentence. Simona heaved a sigh of relief, she wanted to mend the feud they had for a long time, but didn't know how to start.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have said what I did to you Vicky," Simona said apologetically. Vicky beamed and enveloped Simona in an airway restricting embrace.

"_Sembri davvero bella, Simona,"_ (You look really nice, Simona) Romagna said happily. Simona smiled back. It felt nice to have her dorm mates as friends again.

"_Grazie a voi, anche voi fate,"_ (Thank you, you do too) Simona replied giving Romagna a hug. Romagna looked very Italian with her ruby red robes which suited her olive complexion and dark hair which was down and looked natural.

"Shall we go down then , our dates must be waiting for us," Celestica said excitedly. Simona smiled weakly.

"I can't believe Ian Bradley is taking me!" Vicky said beaming. Ian Bradley was a 5th Year Slytherin, and was part of the Quidditch team.

"I know, and Tyson Hathorn said yes to me," Celestica replied with as much gusto as she linked arms with Vicky. Tyson was a 6th Year Slytherin, who was also part of the Quidditch Team.

"_Chi stai andando con?"_ (Who are you going with?) Simona asked Romagna.

"Grant Peterson," Romagna replied with a twinkle in her eyes. Grant was a 7th Year Slytherin, who was captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Vicky and Celestica both looked at Romagna with a smidgen of jealousy in their eyes. Obviously they wanted to be asked by Grant.

"Who are you going with Simona?" Vicky asked expectantly as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Remus Lupin," Simona replied with a soft smile.

AN; I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you to everyone who has supported me, not only on this fanfic but my others; **Dylan, Blood Ties, This Feeling and Time Doesn't Always Heal Wounds.** You guys kick ass! xox


	15. Yule Ball Part One

AN: Hey guys, I'm so sorry I've left it so long to update. I've been so busy lately, with College etc and other Fan Fictions. Don't worry, I'm back though and I'll try to stay on top of updating. Thank you so much to everyone who has favourited and reviewed so far, it gave me the kick up the arse I needed to do this chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's been a loong time coming, I know!

DISCLAIMER; Queen Rowling owns all HP-related stuff!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN; YULE BALL PART ONE

"Remus Lupin?" Celestica said in poorly hidden disgust. Simona blushed slightly.

"But he's a… he's a Gryffindor!" Vicky exclaimed.

"Yes he is. Problem?" Simona said, raising a brow.

"Well what is everyone going to say, a Slytherin going to the ball with a Gryffindor?" Celestica said, throwing her hands in the air. Simona rolled her eyes.

"Let them say want they want, Remus is a nice guy. You don't get that here!" Simona said with a hint of irritation.

"And what are you trying to say about Slytherin, Simona? You're saying some pretty dangerous things," Celestica said, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm trying to say, Celestica that why is it such a bad thing to go to the ball with someone in a different house?" Simona said, stepping closer to Celestica with her hands on her hips.

"Because it's wrong," Celestica shot back through gritted teeth.

"Why are you being like this Celestica?" Simona asked in confusion.

"I must say that Sirius Black is something though," Vicky said airily.

"No, Vicky. It's wrong. Those Gryffindors are all just a bunch of pathetic little peasants," Celestica said scathingly.

"That's unfair Celestica, you can't judge someone on how many galleons they've got in the bank," Simona replied frowning.

"Not a pauper are we Sforza?"

"What's it to you?" Simona bit back angrily.

"Such a shame, the Sorting Hat must have made a mistake," Celestica said sardonically. Simona was shocked, she had never seen such an aristocratic side to Celestica before, she had never seen Celestica lose her cool so quickly either.

"How dare you," Simona growled. Feeling anger try to overcome her, Simona breathed in and out heavily and stormed off. She wasn't going to do to Celestica what she did to Rachel.

"Well that wasn't very Gryffindor of her now was it?" Celestica said sarcastically as Simona shot out of the Common Room Simona slammed the door and leant against the wall outside in the dungeons, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. She could feel her heart beat in her ears and her face became flushed.

Simona had never been too overly keen on Celestica, she seemed to have such a strong character it overpowered the rest of the group. Plus as much as Celestica disliked Rachel, it seemed they shared more in common than Simona had originally thought.

"S..Simona?"

Simona's eyes flew open to see a very nervous-looking Remus stood in front of her, fidgeting uncomfortably on the spot. His straggly hair was pushed back and he was wearing second-hand robes which had hints of gold and red. Simona smiled weakly, his shabby appearance was charming to her. She'd never been drawn into aristocracy and riches.

"Oh, hey Remus," Simona said softly. She stood up properly and smoothed down her dress. Remus blushed.

"You look… very beautiful," Remus said shyly.

"Don't lie," Simona said with a wry smirk.

"What?" Remus spluttered in confusion.

"I'm a giant snake Remus," Simona said, showing her emerald dress. Remus laughed loudly.

"Well I guess you could say I do represent a lion somewhat," he replied with a small smile.

"I got this for you," Remus said after a moment's silence. He held out a small white corsage. Simona smiled as he awkwardly put the corsage around her wrist.

"It's lovely, thank you Remus," Simona said quietly.

"Should we.. we should go right?" Remus said nervously whilst Simona admired the corsage.

"Yes, okay," Simona replied. She stepped towards Remus, her head barely past his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his. Remus blushed slightly and the two started walking.

"It's freezing down here," Remus said as they made their way up the winding stair case.

"You get used to it," Simona replied with a smirk. The pair reached the doors of the Great Hall, Simona held back a gasp as she saw students dressed formally chatting excitedly as they waited for the doors to open. The chatter subsided slightly as they got in front of the doors. Simona felt the burn of at least 50 pairs of eyes on the back of her neck.

"I see everyone is staring at us," Remus said uncomfortably.

"Like I said, you get used to it," Simona replied sarcastically.

"Oi Lupin!"

Sirius and James, accompanied by their dates came to greet Remus and Simona. Simona was right, James was with Lily. Sirius seemed to be with a girl in the year below. Simona wasn't too sure who she was.

"Alright," Remus said with a soft smile. Sirius beamed at him.

"Sforza," Sirius said in acknowledgement. Simona nodded her head at him.

"Oh wow Simona, you look so pretty!" Lily said beaming, Simona smiled back shyly.

"So do you Lily," Simona replied awkwardly.

"Does anyone want any drinks?" Sirius asked, clapping his hands together. The group nodded as they followed Sirius to the drinks table.

"Here you go," Remus said politely, handing Simona a cup full of pumpkin juice.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile as she took a sip from the cup.

"So I heard a band's playing tonight. Who do you reckon' Simona, Led Zeppelin?" Sirius asked with a wink. Simona smirked in return, even though they were quite patchy at times, Sirius and Simona had bonded over their love of muggle music.

"I'd prefer Deep Purple if I'm honest," Simona replied. Sirius nodded in understanding.

"I heard it's Odd's Bodkins," James interjected. Sirius grinned.

"Who are they?" Simona asked, her knowledge of wizard music was quite limited.

"They're great, like if Queen and The Rolling Stones had a magical baby," Sirius said, his voice full of awe and excitement. James chuckled and the group relaxed slightly.

"Sounds good," Simona replied with a smile.

"Would you like to dance Simona?" Remus asked as the other pairs took to the dance floor. Simona smiled and nodded and Remus outstretched his hand.

"I must warn you, I have almost no sense of rhythm," Remus said nervously as they stood in the waltz position.

"Don't worry, I'm not that much of a dancer either," Simona replied with a warm smile.

The two awkwardly stumbled and span around the dance floor.

"Watch it!" An irritable 6th year complained as Simona and Remus accidently crashed into them.

"Whoops," Remus said as they both tried to stop themselves from laughing.

The pair continued to dance for another half an hour before stopping for a break.

"Do you want to sit down?" Remus asked, pointing to some spare seats near James and Lily.

"Yeah sure, I'm a bit tired actually," Simona replied politely.

"Hiya guys, having a nice time?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, it's been great," Remus said with a polite smile as he sat down.

"What about you?" Simona asked Lily.

"Yeah same here. We're just not that great at dancing," Lily confessed.

"Neither are we, didn't we crash into some 6th years earlier?" Simona asked, looking at Remus.

"Yes. They didn't seem too pleased," Remus said bashfully as Lily and James chuckled at Simona and Remus.

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing that. You two have no rhythm whatsoever," James said with a wry grin.

"James! You can't say that!" Lily said, berating him.

"It's okay Lily, we know we're terrible dancers," Remus said as himself and Simona fought to keep a straight face.

"Do any of you want another drink?" Simona asked as she stood up.

"No thanks," both James and Lily said at the same time.

"I will, I'll come with you," Remus said as he stood up.

The Slytherin and the Gryffindor made their way to the drinks table and stood chatting as they queued to get a drink.

"So what have you thought of the night so far?" Remus asked. Simona smiled. She thoroughly enjoyed being in Remus' company, he was a gentleman, very kind and considerate but she felt something was missing.

"A bit soon to ask Remus, but I've had a wonderful time so far," Simona said reassuringly. Remus smiled shyly and looked back towards the queue.

The rest of the night went well, Remus and Simona danced until their feet hurt, Odd's Bodkins were terrible though Simona thought, they didn't sound at all like The Rolling Stones. The lead singer was middle aged and considerably overweight, the band barely had one hair between them and they were out of tune.

"The Rolling Stones and Queen had a baby. Really?" Simona asked Sirius jokingly after Odd's Bodkins finished their set to lukewarm applause.

"Well maybe I was exaggerating," Sirius said cooly with his trademark grin plastered on his face. Simona rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, just a bit," Simona replied sarcastically, Sirius chuckled as Simona went and sat down next to an exhausted Lily.

"Having fun?" Simona asked Lily.

"Yeah, but James is a bit much. He keeps going off to talk to the other guys," Lily said, deflated.

"I'm sure he's just bragging about going to the Yule Ball with you," Simona said with the same reassuring voice she used when talking to Remus earlier.

"Do you really think so?" Lily asked, her emerald green eyes lightening ever so slightly.

"Yes. I know plenty of people who are jealous of James for going with you," Simona said with a slight grimace, one of those people just so happened to be Severus Snape.

"Now you're just being silly," Lily said batting her hand. Simona smiled, but internally rolling her eyes.

"I'm not, honest," Simona replied.

"Who, who's jealous of James?" Lily asked, Simona resisted the urge to say something sarcastic. She liked Lily, but not how attention-seeking she was.

"Severus for one," Simona replied. Lily's face became hardened, then neutralised, as if she tried to keep her emotions neutral.

"Yeah, he asked me just after James did," Lily said quietly. Simona felt a pang of jealousy. It was getting harder to keep it a secret that Simona liked Severus. Simona still felt feelings for him, even though they were not on the best of terms.

"He asked me too," Simona replied, frowning. She knew Severus had asked Lily already, but it still hurt to hear it from Lily.

"Oh, I never knew that," Lily replied. Simona sighed and walked off. She wasn't up to talking to Lily for much longer.

"Simona, fancy a dance?" Sirius asked, his grey eyes glittering. Simona couldn't turn him down and nodded.

"I'll make up for that bad call earlier," Sirius said as he led Simona onto the dance floor.

"You better do. They were terrible," Simona said with a smirk as Sirius spun her around.

"They weren't that bad, surely," Sirius replied, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

Simona simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, okay. They were abysmal. Happy?" Sirius asked. Simona considered this for a moment, and then nodded.

"Good," Sirius said with a wink as he suddenly dipped Simona to the ground, she squealed in surprise and then laughed as Sirius pulled her back up again, she expected to see the grey eyes sparkle, but instead of Sirius, Simona was enraptured by a pair of impossibly black eyes that made her heart stop.

AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I've already started working on the next chapter, so it shouldn't be 'too' long before I update again. Please read and review to tell me you love me, and what you thought of the chapter. Thank you so much for your patience! xoxo


	16. Yule Ball Part Two

AN: Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated, blame College! Anyway, here is the next chapter. Thank you so much to all those who have reviewed, subscribed and favourited. It's good to know that you haven't forsaken me :D

DISCLAIMER; All HP-related hooey belongs to Queen Rowling. The OCs and the basic plot belong to your's truly!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN; YULE BALL PART TWO

"Oh hey there Snivellus," Sirius said mockingly, Simona's face started to burn crimson. Severus didn't say anything, but narrow his eyes at Sirius and storm off. Simona felt compelled to chase after him.

"Sev!" Simona said as she chased Severus out of the Hall and out into the corridor.

"Wait, please. Sev!"

"Just wait, Sev." Simona was struggling to keep up with his long strides.

"Sev, please." They had reached the top of the spiral staircase as Simona desperately tried to gain Severus' attention.

"What?" Severus said as he turned around, taking Simona by surprise.

"Why did you run off like that?" Simona said, analysing Severus' face. She frowned as she noticed that it looked like he had been crying.

"Because of that moron, Black. What do you think?" Severus snapped.

"Sorry. I just wanted to see that you were okay," Simona replied.

"Well, I'm fine. Now leave me alone," Severus said sternly as he made to walk away again. Simona grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"You're not okay, there's something wrong," Simona said, frowning.

"You're annoying me, leave me alone," Severus spat. Simona could tell that she was being persistent, but her Slytherin determination kicked in. She wanted to know what was wrong.

"There's something else isn't there?" Simona asked, studying his eyes. They shifted uncomfortably.

"No, of course there isn't, now let me go," Severus said, less convincingly.

"I don't believe you. You've been crying haven't you?" Simona said, more harshly than she had intended.

"I, no. Why would I have been crying?" Severus said, his eyes avoiding Simona's.

"I can think of a reason. Lily," Simona said, her eyes still focussing on Severus.

"No," Severus said simply, Simona felt his resolve break. He wasn't lying anymore.

"Well what do you mean no?" Simona asked, wanting to get a more comprehensive answer.

"I haven't been crying…because of Lily," Severus asked, as if it was painful for him to say.

"Why were you crying?" Simona asked, her voice full of concern and curiosity.

"Do you really want me to say, out loud?" Severus said, his voice becoming quiet and vulnerable.

"Yes, then we can sort everything out," Simona said, frowning.

"But we're not friends anymore," Severus said. Simona smiled sadly, it was true that the two Slytherins had drifted apart, but at that moment Simona no longer held any resentment towards Severus.

"We can be friends again. If you want," Simona said letting go of Severus' arm and holding out her hand.

After a moment of consideration, Severus nodded and shook Simona's hand. Simona smiled and sighed in relief.

"Now that we're friends. Why were you crying?" Simona said. Severus bit his lip and looked up at Simona.

"I don't want to say," he said reluctantly. Simona pursed her lips. She desperately wanted to know why Severus had been crying, but part of her didn't want to push him into saying so. They had only just became friends again, and didn't want to jeopardise it again by putting him in a bad mood.

"Okay," Simona replied with what she thought was a convincing smile.

"Are you sure?" Severus asked, a little put out by Simona's sudden change of heart.

"Yes. Now can we go back to the ball?" Simona asked.

"I don't know Simona, I don't think I can be in the same room as Black and his followers," Severus said, spitting out the latter words as if they left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

"We can avoid them. Come on Sev, if they come near us.. Tell them to bugger off," Simona said stumbling on her words slightly. She wasn't used to using a British slang term like 'bugger off' before. Severus noticed as he raised a bemused brow at this and shook his head.

"Okay, but if any of them give me any bother, we're leaving," Severus said, setting off back towards the main hall without pre warning Simona who set off at a jog to catch up with him.

The two Slytherins made it back to the hall, almost all of the occupants were busy dancing with each other on the dance floor. Sirius, James and Remus were nowhere to be seen.

"This isn't too bad, is it?" Simona asked as they awkwardly swept across the dance floor. Severus seemed to have terrible timing, Simona winced as he accidently stepped on her foot.

"I told you I can't dance Simona," Severus said downheartedly as he tripped over himself for the third time.

"It's okay, I'm not that good either," Simona said reassuringly patting Severus' arm.

"You're better than me," Severus said, losing his footing again.

"Well practice makes perfect right?" Simona said, recalling the clichéd phrase.

"I guess so. I just don't like being bad at something," Severus said gritting his teeth as he stumbled slightly.

"That's just you being a typical Slytherin," Simona said with a smirk. Severus sighed and then nodded.

"Although you can talk. I heard you stay up all night in the common room studying," Severus said with a half smirk.

"Well that's different!" Simona said quickly, Severus rolled his eyes. Simona was a terrible liar.

"Oh yes, completely different," Severus said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I told you I'm not very good at this," Severus said downheartedly.

"You will get better, promise!" Simona said with an earnest expression.

"Yeah," Severus said simply.

"Hey, you're getting better at this," Simona said encouragingly as Severus and herself twirled around the dance floor with more fluidity.

"It has been nearly an hour since we started dancing," Severus replied.

"So? You've only stood on my foot a couple of times since then," Simona said with a smile. Severus raised an eyebrow, he wasn't used to anyone paying him compliments.

"You are an insufferable creature," Severus said, said by anyone other than Severus would have been an insult. Simona smiled even more, this was a complement coming from him.

"How nice of you to say," Simona replied sarcastically. Severus' lip twitched into a ghost of a smile.

"I do try," Severus said back. Simona scoffed and flickered her eyes over to the buffet table.

"Could we get something to eat? I'm so hungry," she said with a small smile.

"Sure. I am too, come to think of it," Severus replied, as they walked over to the table.

Simona piled her plate with food, whilst Severus took a few sandwiches.

"How can you eat so much?" Severus asked in amazement as Simona scoffed the plate.

"Huh?" Simona said with a mouthful of food.

"You eat a lot," Severus said, pointing to the now empty plate. Simona blushed slightly.

"I suppose I've got my appetite back. Food is very important in Italy, my dad said if I had a spirit animal, it would be a horse," Simona said shrugging her shoulders.

"A horse?" Severus asked in confusion.

"He said it's because I uh, eat like one," Simona said with a fond smile, her dad used to come out with a lot of strange phrases, but that one stuck out in her head.

"What?" Severus said in surprise, Simona began to laugh, Severus shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek. 'Mad as a hatter this one,' he thought to himself.

"His words, not mine," Simona said with a grin as she looked longingly at the buffet table.

"I'm sure they won't mind if you have seconds," Severus said with a raised brow. Simona smiled thankfully at him before refilling her plate.

"I got the last of the garlic chicken," Simona said with an odd sense of pride.

"Yes, what an achievement," Severus said sarcastically as he nibbled a sandwich.

"Now, where were we?" Simona said after she had finished the second plate of food. She put her hands under her chin and looked at Severus as if she meant business.

"What?" Severus asked, faltering slightly under her emerald green gaze.

"Why were you crying earlier?" Simona said seriously.

"Simona," Severus said with a hint of exasperation.

"Come on Sev, I want to know," Simona said. Severus sighed and sank back in his chair.

"I don't want to say," Severus said, vulnerability swimming in his obsidian eyes.

"Why not? I won't judge you," Simona replied.

"I know you won't, it's just. It's complicated," Severus said, frowning slightly.

"Try me," Simona said with a small pout.

"I don't know Simona," Severus said reluctantly.

"Give me a clue. What's it about?" Simona said leaning forward.

"More like who it's about," Severus said quietly.

"Who is it about then?" Simona asked, starting to get slightly impatient.

"That's it. I can't say," Severus replied.

"Can I guess?" Simona asked with a small smirk on her face.

"Fine," Severus replied.

"Is she in our year?" Simona asked.

"Yes."

"Hmmm, is she in Gryffindor?" Simona asked as she started to mentally narrow down the girls in their year in her head.

"No, it's not Lily. I said so earlier," Severus replied.

"Right, is she in Ravenclaw?"

"No."

"Hufflepuff?"

"…No."

"Ah, Slytherin."

"Obviously."

"Right. Do I know her?" Simona asked mischievously.

"Yes."

"Oooh, is she a good friend of ours?" Simona asked, the playful glint never leaving her eyes.

"I guess you could say that," Severus said, nervously running a hand through his hair.

"Hmmm," Simona said thoughtfully.

"Oh come on, it isn't that hard to figure out," Severus said rather irritably. Simona's eyes widened in realisation.

"It's me isn't it?" She said quietly.

"Yes."

AN: Don't you just love a cliffhanger? Next chapter when time allows! Sorry the chapter is a little short, I will try to write a longer one next time.. That's what she said! Please read and review and subscribe to let me know that you love me as much as I love you! :D xoxoxo


	17. Playing The Jealousy Game

A/N; Hey guys, sorry it's been quite a long time since I last updated. I've been caught up in work and other stories. I have been working on this one for quite a while so please don't be too mad! Thank you for the reviews and subscriptions I received from the last chapter, they mean a lot! I've decided this story will end within the next two or three chapters. I have actually started working on a sequel for this, the first chapter has already been completed! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I love you all :D

DISCLAIMER; All Harry Potter goodness belongs to Queen Rowling. The OCs and basic plot belong to yours truly.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; PLAYING THE JEALOUSY GAME

"I.." Simona was left speechless.

"Great, now you have nothing to say," Severus said sarcastically, his eyes giving away a flicker of hurt.

"No Sev, I'm just…surprised," Simona said eventually. Part of her wanted to squeal with joy, that to her it seemed Severus actually cared about her, but another part felt a crushing guilt. She didn't like making people cry.

"Go on," Severus said, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I feel bad," Simona said, trying to sort out her feelings.

"Why?"

"For making you cry," Simona said with a sad glint in her eye. Severus shuffled uncomfortably.

"It's nothing I, I need to learn how to control my emotions better," Severus said, looking down at the floor.

"No," Simona said, causing Severus' eyes to snap up to meet Simona.

"I think it's sweet," she continued, stepping closer to him. "You're sweet," Simona said, closing the distance between them. Even in heels Simona barely reached Severus' shoulders.

"Simona are you sure?" Severus asked uneasily, spluttering slightly.

"Sure about what?" Simona asked, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Aren't you with Lupin, or Black?" Severus replied. He began to lose the ability to breathe, Simona was mere inches away from him, she looked up at him, her emerald green eyes glistening.

"No," Simona said with a small frown.

"I just danced with Sirius, and Remus asked me here," Simona continued, her eyes still locked on to Severus'.

"Oh, well good," Severus said with a ghost of a smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Simona said with a roguish glint in her eye. Severus blushed slightly.

"Because," Severus said, starting to find the words in his mouth had become tar-like.

"Because why?" Simona said, her mouth curling into a smile.

"Because… I couldn't tell you that," Severus said, taking a deep breath. "I couldn't tell you how…beautiful you look tonight," Severus said finally. Feeling slightly relieved he had managed to get the words out. His eyes quickly flickered to Simona to see her reaction.

Simona's eyes widened in shock, and then a childish grin spread itself across her face. Her eyes sparkled.

"Oh Sev," Simona said, her eyes starting to shine.

"What?" Severus asked in confusion, before realising Simona's reaction was content. "Oh," he said, before stopping himself from saying anything else and took suit with Simona. Severus' face relaxed and smiled back at her.

"I like your dress robes," Simona said gleefully. Severus looked down at his tattered robes and wondered whether or not Simona was being sarcastic. He decided the latter, her expression and gleeful manner didn't show this at all.

"They're terrible," Severus said light heartedly, Simona laughed and shook her head.

"No, I like them. They are…perfectly imperfect. Like you," Simona said coyly.

It was as if the world had stopped and darkened. As if two spotlights were on them, as if they were the only people in the universe at that point. All that mattered was each other.

Severus blushed even more and pursed his lips. He could feel his heart beat in his throat. He decided to be like his Gryffindor adversaries and be brave. Slowly, he leaned forward, internally cursing the height difference between the both of them.

Simona looked up to see Severus cautiously moving closer to her. She smiled and closed her eyes in anticipation. Severus raised a shaky hand and put his hand underneath Simona's chin. He moved closer to her and tilted his head to the right. Their faces were inches away. Severus inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Their lips were about to touch when they were interrupted by a stern voice from behind them, bringing them back to reality.

"Mr Snape and Miss Sforza, 30 points from Slytherin," Professor McGonagall said her glasses resting halfway down her nose and her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

The rest of the night passed with relative ease. The two Slytherins continued to dance, under the vigilant eye of Professor McGonagall and Simona and Severus began to feel at complete ease with each other.

"I wish she would stop staring at us," Simona said frowning as they spun around on the floor.

"We have gained her interest it seems," Severus muttered, smirking slightly. Simona didn't realise this but he was not talking about McGonagall, he was talking about a certain red-haired beauty who was staring at the two Slytherins with a mixture of jealousy, anger and sorrow.

"Sev, are you going into Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Simona asked as they continued to dance.

"I wasn't planning on going, why?" He replied, his eyes flickering from Simona to Lily.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go with me," Simona said shyly. Severus looked at her, his eyes softening.

"Yes, of course. I'd like that," Severus said causing Simona to flash her pearly white teeth at him again in happiness.

"Good, good. I can buy Christmas presents when I am there," Simona said contently.

"Are you staying here for Christmas?" Severus asked Simona as the hours wore on.

"Yes," Simona replied simply. "Are you?" She asked.

"Most likely, I prefer being here than at home," Severus replied, a sad glint in his eyes. Simona decided not to press him any further and instead rested her head against his chest. Severus let out a small gasp of surprise, but didn't deny her.

"Me too," Simona replied, before letting her eyes flutter closed.

Severus sighed and began to feel tired. He looked up and saw Lily staring at him. He felt his heart splinter. It was no secret that he loved Lily, he had always loved Lily. But new feelings began to rear its head as far as Simona was concerned, and he had no idea what to do.

Simona spotted Sirius out of the corner of her eye. She smiled sympathetically at him before looking back up at Severus.

Severus was gazing lovingly at Lily. Lily was looking back, with almost the same intensity as Severus. Simona felt her insides go cold, only to be replaced with fire. She felt her temper boil over. Deciding to not let her temper get the better of her, Simona decided she would not get mad, but to get even.

"I am just going to have a word with Sirius," Simona said suddenly, she growled as she broke away, realising Severus didn't even look at her in acknowledgment.

"Hello Sirius," Simona said as she walked over to the Gryffindor.

"Hey, how has your evening been?" Sirius asked politely, Simona smiled sadly and sighed.

"It was great at first, but I am not so sure anymore," Simona said, looking back over at Severus who had started walking over to Lily.

"Hello Lily," Severus said shyly. Lily smiled warmly at him.

"Hiya Sev, I wondered when you were going to come over here," Lily said happily.

"Really? I- I didn't know whether or not you wanted to talk to me," Severus said nervously itching his head.

"Of course I do Sev, I don't want James to come between us. You're my oldest friend," Lily replied, showing her trademark smile.

"Ah. I knew Snivellus would try to ruin it somehow. James will sort him out eventually, or I will at least," Sirius said, his eyes narrowing. Simona chuckled. She knew she could count on Sirius to cheer her up.

"What's he doing?" Remus said as he walked over to Sirius and Simona.

"You look very pretty tonight, Lily," Severus said gushingly, taking in Lily's appearance. Her flaming locks of auburn hair was tied back in an elegant bun, her face was lightly powdered with make-up and her dress was a deep red, matching her hair.

"Thank you Sev, that is very sweet of you to say such a thing," Lily replied, stepping closer to Severus who squawked quietly in surprise.

"Hello Remus," Simona said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hiya Simona," Remus said warmly.

"Why are you so nervous around me Sev?" Lily asked, her eyes shining.

"I-I don't know, I've always been nervous around you," Severus replied, feeling slightly flustered.

"I don't know mate, but he's way out of line," Sirius said frowning at Severus. Lily giggled at Severus which exacerbated Simona's fury even more.

"I think she is way out of line," Simona growled as she watched Lily pat Severus' arm lightly.

"Come on, let's dance," Sirius said, grabbing Simona's hand causing her to squeak in surprise.

The Slytherin and the Gryffindor spun around the dance floor, Simona relaxed as it seemed Sirius was a much better dancer than Severus. Simona looked up to see Severus and Lily still conversing happily. Another shot of fury made its way through Simona's tiny frame. Sirius spotted this and pulled Simona closer to him.

"Ignore them," Sirius hissed. Simona sighed and nodded.

"I know, it just hurts to see them like that no?" Simona said sadly.

"She'll never go for it Simona, she likes James," Sirius said reassuringly. Simona looked back at the couple, Lily was standing too close to Severus for Simona's liking.

"You know, I was going to approach you if you didn't come over to me," Lily said, smoothing down her dress casually.

"Even with Simona here?" Severus asked in a whisper, his expression hardened as he saw Simona and Sirius sweep across the dancefloor.

"I suppose not, but she sure seems to be having fun with Sirius," Lily replied haughtily.

"I know," Severus snorted.

"But not as much fun as we're having right Sev?" Lily asked, her emerald eyes glittering.

"No," he replied simply. Lily giggled again, Simona noticed this and growled.

"She better not," Simona muttered to herself.

"She won't, come on," Sirius said grabbing Simona's arm and repelling her away as if she was some sort of yo-yo. Simona gasped in shock and laughed as Sirius pulled her back to him.

"You need to warn me before you do that again," Simona said, suddenly breathless. A wolf-like smile graced Sirius' features.

"But where's the fun in that?" Sirius said their faces mere inches away. Simona laughed nervously before pulling away.

Severus turned his attentions away from Lily and looked up to see Simona and Sirius pulled flush against each other. He stopped himself from marching over to the two and hexing Sirius' face off. He felt divided. One second he believed Lily was his one true love, the one person he could dedicate himself to, the next he felt exactly the same for Simona.

Seeing Simona and Sirius stand so closely made him feel sick with jealousy. Severus' Slytherin determination kicked in, unwittingly breaking Simona's heart in the process. He was going to get Lily no matter what it took. He cared deeply for Simona, but he rationalised this with the fact that Lily had stolen his heart first, he wanted to make sure he had no chance with her at all before handing it over to Simona.

Severus looked back to Lily, Lily stepped closer to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Severus blushed furiously.

"I think I am going to go to bed now," Simona said, smiling politely at Sirius before making a hasty escape from the Hall, all the while desperately trying to avoid looking at Severus and Lily.

Sirius remained where he was, watching in disbelief as the petite Slytherin all but ran away from him. He sighed, he had never been turned down before.

Simona ran down the stairs to the Slytherin common room, trying to blink through the haze of tears streaming down her face. She pushed past amorous couples in the barely lit corridors, rolling her eyes at their public displays of affection and entering the common room.

She ran up to her dorm room, ignoring the stares as she flung open the door and threw herself on to her bed. Simona hugged a pillow to herself as sobs wracked through her body, eventually falling asleep out of exhaustion.

A/N; So there we have it. Isn't Severus a douche? I know this chapter is a bit fluffy, but we all need fluff in our lives huh? I will make sure the next chapter is here sooner than usual, I will end this soon, perhaps chapter 20.. But like I mentioned earlier, a sequel is on its way! Please subscribe, read and review to show how much you like this story :D Red vines to everyone who reviews and subscribes, I love hearing feedback, it's my personal fuel. I love you all more than I did before.. xoxoxo


	18. A Plan Is Born

AN; Hey guys sorry for the two week delay, I've been working super hard on completing this Fanfiction and working on the sequel. I'm afraid this is the penultimate chapter, the next one is the last one! I have already finished the first two chapters of the sequel so you will not have to wait too long for it to be uploaded!

DISCLAIMER; All HP related goodness belongs to Queen Rowling. OCs and plot belong to me.

Text that is in italics are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN; A PLAN IS BORN

The next morning was awkward. Simona cried herself to sleep that night and when exhaustion finally took over her she decided something. She was going to ignore Severus. When it came to people wronging Simona she was adept at cutting them out of her life. She had done it before back in America when a girl whom Simona had considered a close friend had spread a vicious rumour about Simona when she attended a muggle school. Needless to say Simona never spoke to or even thought of that girl again.

Simona was sat in the Great Hall for breakfast. Romagna, Celestica and Vicki were not talking to Simona because of their fight about Remus, and Severus was looking lovelorn at Lily. Lily was smiling back, which sent a pang of jealousy through Simona's heart. Simona didn't know what happened after she had left, she decided to ask Sirius about it before everyone left for the Christmas Holiday. Sirius was staying behind along with Remus and James who preferred Hogwarts over their own homes.

"Hey Simona," Remus said as people started to clear out of the Hall. Simona looked up at smiled sadly.

"Hello Remus," she replied as she slung her bag over her shoulder and got up from the Slytherin table. A handful of Slytherins aware of the exchange shot Remus contemptuous glares.

"Are you okay? Sirius told me about last night," Remus said with his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine. I thought James would be more upset," Simona said with a careless shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh. Well yes, he is a bit downhearted by the situation," Remus said slightly taken aback. He thought Simona would have reacted differently.

"Where are Sirius and James?" Simona asked as the Slytherin and Gryffindor left the Great Hall.

"Outside by the lake. I was just heading there now. Do you want to come with me?" Remus asked.

"Yes please. I want to talk to James," Simona said with a polite smile. Simona wanted to know exactly how James felt. She knew that he would be devastated, she knew how it felt.

"Hiya mate. Hey Simona," Sirius said when Remus and Simona reached the two Gryffindors.

"Hello Sirius," Simona said amicably. Remus nodded at Sirius.

"James, could I talk to you?" Simona inquired as James looked sullenly up at Simona. He was sat down, his legs crossed and picking forlornly at a patch of grass.

"Sure," James replied, standing up and brushing down his clothes.

"I just wanted to ask how you were feeling," Simona said as they strolled down the path next to the lake.

"Crap. I don't know why she's talking to Snivellus. They have barely said a word to each other for months," James said glumly.

"I know. I was confused too," Simona said with a deep sigh.

"I really thought she liked me you know. When she accepted my invite to the ball I was almost certain we'd start dating," James groaned, kicking a stone in front of him.

"I don't understand it either James. I know Remus asked me to the ball, but Severus said I was pretty and I thought we were going to kiss, but he went off with Lily," Simona replied, her words becoming heavy with emotion.

"That little snake," James said, anger rising in his voice.

"He told me he loved her you know," Simona said, beginning to blink back tears.

"What?" James said in shock, his eyes narrowing.

"He did. That day you told me about the letters. After you left I wanted to know more about the so called embarrassing incident. He told me he loved her," Simona said, swallowing down her tears and watching James' reaction.

"What a git. He'll regret that," James growled, his murderous expression mixed with hurt.

"He is and he will. I'm done, I don't even care anymore," Simona snarled.

"Me too. Screw Lily, there are other people right?" James said, stopping in his tracks and looking at Simona.

"Of course," Simona said, taken aback by James' sudden change of tune.

"Oh but there isn't anyone else," James said dejectedly, his shoulders slumping.

"There are James. Both Lily and Se-Snivellus played us like fools. It's time to move on," Simona said resolutely. James sighed and shook his head.

"I wish I had your determination Simona, that's one thing I've always secretly admired in you Slytherins. You don't let anything get you down," James said appreciatively.

"I don't. But I have a way of letting people know they've hurt me," Simona said, smiling to herself vindictively as she recalled the time she exacted her revenge on the girl who spread rumours about her. Simona was so angry she turned the girl's hair an unattractive shade of green.

"I have a feeling I don't want to know," James said with a small smirk. Simona laughed weakly.

"You don't. Now shall we get back to the guys? I'd like to know their input on getting Snivellus back," Simona said as she spun around. James scoffed and followed Simona, he liked this new side to Simona.

"Have a nice little chat?" Sirius asked as the two returned. Remus sat against a tree, his eyes glued to a large book.

"Yes," Simona replied as she sat down next to Remus.

"It was interesting," James said with a smirk, sitting next to Sirius.

"Well then. What was said?" Sirius asked, clearly curious.

"We're getting revenge on Snivellus," James replied. Sirius smiled.

"Excellent, how are we going to do it?" Sirius asked, clapping his hands together. A startled Remus jumped in surprise and dropped his book to the floor.

"Remus, so glad to see you in our world again mate," James said amusedly. Remus laughed shyly and blushed.

"We don't know yet, but I've got an idea," Simona said, her lips tipping up into a smile.

"Are you in on this Simona?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"Simona's the one who came up with pranking Snivellus," James replied with a mischievous grin.

"Really? I didn't know you had it in you," Sirius said appreciatively.

"You don't mess with an Italian," Simona said smugly.

"Nor do you mess with a Slytherin I guess," Remus said looking pleasantly surprised.

"That is true," Simona replied with a smile as she looked at Remus.

"So what's the plan, oh capitano?" James asked as the three Gryffindors and the Slytherin huddled around in a makeshift circle. Simona smirked at James' attempt to speak Italian and leaned forward.

"I think we should strike after Christmas, just long enough for Snivellus to forget what he's done. That way it'll really surprise him," Simona said in hushed tones. The boys listened intently as she explained the plan.

"Sounds good," Sirius said with a smirk.

"A little humiliation wouldn't go amiss, so he knows how much he humiliated me and Simona. I was thinking we should approach him whilst he's by himself, hang him upside down and show his boxers to everyone. That'll show him," James said maliciously.

"Yeah, I bet he wears black boxers too," Sirius agreed laughing slightly.

"Probably. Although the thought has never crossed my mind," Remus said with a confused expression.

Simona stopped herself from saying anything. She didn't like that idea, she thought that a couple of strategically placed dungbombs would be enough.

"Why don't we throw dungbombs at him?" Simona postulated.

"That's weak. We need something to really show him up. I think we should go along with James' idea," Sirius said, batting his hand whilst James scoffed at Simona's suggestion.

Simona remained quiet whilst Sirius and James began to formulate the plan. Her resolve slowly began to crumble, James and Sirius' plan to her went too far but not wanting to upset her friends she decided to stay out of it and instead read and discussed Remus' book.

When James and Sirius had finished talking Simona decided to join in.

"What happened after I left?" Simona asked, curious as to what happened at the Yule Ball.

"Not a lot really. Snivellus and Lily were together for the rest of the night. There are rumours that they're dating each other now," Sirius said with distaste. Simona saw James' face knit itself into a frown. Simona felt her heart drop but showed no outward change of emotion.

"I see," Simona replied simply.

"Where's Peter?" Simona asked after a moment's silence.

"Detention. He took the wrap for me and James charming some chicken wings to attack Snivellus," Sirius replied. Simona chuckled. The image of chicken pelting themselves at a horrified Severus amused her.

Christmas passed without much happening. Simona had received some clothes and a warm letter from her adopted parents. She had also gotten a book from Remus, some products from Zonkos from James and a rare Deep Purple EP from Sirius. Simona had not gotten anything from Severus, nor had she given him anything. The two had not spoken to each other since the Yule Ball. Severus and Lily were still dating and seemed happy, much to Simona and James's displeasure. Simona and her roommates remained on uneasy terms but received a couple of packages from Honeydukes from Vicky as an apology.

All 5th years were sitting practise O.W.L. examinations. Simona was sat in the Great Hall, a couple of seats in front of Severus in their mock Defence Against the Dark Arts exam. They were almost three-quarters of the way through the exam and Simona scribbled the answers furiously down on her sheet of parchment. She had revised thoroughly during the holidays and because she had become close to the Marauders, Remus in particular she had found out about his lycanthropy. She almost squealed with happiness when she saw a question that asked her to identify five signs of a typical werewolf.

When the full time had elapsed she finished the last question just in time.

"_Quills down please!" Squeaked new Charms Professor, Professor Flitwick. "That means you too Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!'_

_Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet._ Simona and several other students chortled in amusement as they watched the minute Professor climb rather pitifully back onto his desk.

After the students were dismissed by a very red-faced Professor Simona caught up with Sirius, James, Remus and Peter.

"_Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as they emerged into the Entrance Hall._

"_Loved it," said Lupin briskly. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question,"_

"_D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern._

"_Think I did," said Lupin seriously as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."_

All but Peter chortled loudly as they made their way down to a beech tree on the edge of the lake. Chatting happily as they walked.

The five sat talking for a while, after Sirius complained of being bored their plan seemed like it was going to start.

"_This'll liven you up Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is…"_

_Sirius' head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit._

"_Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."_

AN; So I hope you enjoyed the chapter guys, the last one will be up in the next two or so days.. The sequel will follow soon after. Thank you so much for the amazing support this Fanfiction has gotten. This story means a lot to me- it's the first ever FF I have written. Please read and review- I'd like to know your thoughts!


	19. Emerald And Black

AN; So this is it guys, the final chapter! Before any of you go crazy on me and demand more (Which I highly doubt, but a girl can dream!) I have written the first 3 chapters of the sequel already. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your support. This has been one hell of a ride and EVERYONE who has read this is forever my favourite people in the universe. I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter.

DISCLAIMER; All HP related goodness belongs to Queen Rowling. OCs and the plot belong pour moi.

DISCLAIMER PART DEUX; All text in italics is quoted directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

CHAPTER NINETEEN; EMERALD AND BLACK

Sirius and James immediately got to their feet and marched after Severus, Simona ran after them.

"_All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly._

_Severus reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted,_

"_Expelliarmus!"_

_Severus' wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter._

Simona looked on as James knocked Severus off his feet with a cry of 'Impedimenta'. They had started to attract a small crowd.

"_How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James_

"_I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."_

"Wasn't writing another rubbish letter to his Lily was he?" Simona asked, her eyes flashing with malevolence.

Severus' head shot up. He looked at Simona with disbelieving eyes. 'What was she doing here?' he thought.

The small crowd snickered, Simona was looking forward to seeing how the prank would pan out. She watched as Severus struggled on the floor, as if he was bound by invisible ropes.

"_You-wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, "you-wait!"_

"_Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"_

The crowd grew larger, at least 25 people were watching the heated exchange.

_Severus let out a stream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened._

"_Wash out your mouth, said James coldly. "Scourgify!"_

_Pink soap bubbles streamed from Severus' mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him-_

Simona started to frown. She had been enjoying the prank so far, but felt it was starting to go too far, not wanting to disrupt Sirius and James she remained quiet. She knew Severus was a dab hand at defending himself, perhaps he would get back at the two Gryffindors.

_The Impedimenta Jinx was wearing off. Severus was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled._

He had never felt more angry in his life. It was bad enough having James and Sirius agitate him, but to see Simona join in, and to watch him with a glint of enjoyment in her eyes wound him up even more.

"OI!" James shouted as he noticed Severus.

_Severus had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Severus was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants._

The even more large crowd cheered whilst Sirius and James roared with laughter.

"You could have at least made more of an effort Snivellus," Sirius said with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I wonder what Lily is going to say," Simona said offhandedly, trying to make her words sting as much as possible.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her, her comment wounding him more than Sirius'. He then realised how much it must have hurt her to see him run off with Lily just as he was going to make a commitment to Simona. Shaking his head of the considerate thoughts, he went back to anger. 'How dare she mention Lily like that' he thought. 'How vindictive can one person get?'

"I still don't know what she sees in that greasy git. I'd rather stick hot pins in my eyes than even look at him for 10 minutes," James snarled, earning a chuckle from the crowd.

"Come on guys, let him down," Simona said weakly, trying to keep a spiteful flash in her eyes.

"_Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Severus fell into a crumpled heap on the ground._

_Severus quickly got to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said "Petrificus Totalus!" and Severus keeled over again, rigid as a board. _

"That's enough Sirius, don't you think petrifying him is a step too far?" Simona asked angrily as she stepped forward. A line had been crossed for her, she recalled the time they were planning the revenge, they had agreed to only go as far as dangling Severus upside-down she had never agreed to petrifying him.

"You seemed all for a bit of pain and humiliation a couple of weeks ago Simona. Hell, you were the one who came up with the idea. Why the sudden change of heart?" Sirius asked in surprise. Simona looked balefully back at him.

"This has gone too far. I didn't want you to humiliate him like this. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that," Simona growled and turned her attention back to Severus.

"He deserves it Simona, after what he did to you and me. You wanted revenge, well here it is," James shot back.

"Of course he deserves some sort of justice but not this!" Simona replied, her inner need of justice crumbling.

"Why are you being such a spoil sport Simona? You're supposed to be our friend!" Sirius said in disbelief.

Simona dived to his side. Angry tears building up in the corners of her eyes. She now wished she had dealt with the Yule Ball issue in a different way. She had to admit the early stages of the plan amused her greatly, but as the crowds grew larger her enthusiasm declined.

"Leave him alone!" Simona shouted, her wand pointing at James and Sirius.

James sighed deeply, then turned to Severus and muttered the counter-curse.

"_There you go," he said, as Severus struggled to his feet. _

Simona glared at Sirius and James as they retreated back to Remus. The crowd, disappointed by the ending tutted and slowly began to disperse.

"Sev I'm so sorry, if I had known that-" Simona said desperately, apologetic tears starting to run down her face.

"I'd be humiliated by at least 30 students you'd think it had gone too far?" Severus snapped.

"Yes-but I-"

"Was 5 students enough- 10?" Severus said his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No-but-"

"So you thought setting James and Sirius on me was compensation for what happened at the Yule Ball?"

"Well you really-"

"I don't want to hear it. Why don't you do me a favour and go away?"

"Why don't you listen to what I've got to say?" Simona said, finally finding her voice.

"I think that immature prank said more than enough, now if you'll excuse me I've got to scrub away today's events from my mind," Severus snarled before marching off. Simona watched in grief as Severus marched away, sneering at anyone who watched him.

Severus was absolutely furious. Not only had he been pranked by two people he hated, he had learned it was started by someone he once considered his closest friend. Severus felt betrayed to the nth degree, he assumed Simona would have felt put out about what had happened at the Yule Ball but he would have never thought that she would retaliate in such a childish manner. He felt Simona's actions were unforgivable and whilst he still felt something for her, he no longer had any interest in pursuing his feelings. One thing was for certain in his mind, he cared more about Lily than he could ever do about Simona.

The next day brought misery on Simona's part. She couldn't sleep the previous night, haunted by James and Sirius' cruel prank on Severus. She tossed and turned as she remembered how dismissive Severus was of her when Simona stepped in to stop the prank. Simona had bags under her eyes and couldn't eat. The two no longer sat together during their lessons. Nor did they sit anywhere near each other in the Great Hall during breakfast and dinner. Simona barely saw Severus that day, she didn't talk to James or Sirius either. She was appalled by their behaviour and only spoke to Remus.

Students were once again gathered outside, it was strangely warm weather for mid-January. Simona walked out of the main doors to see Severus sat by himself on a patch of grass. Simona saw this as an opportunity to try and mend the damage that yesterday dealt to them.

"Sev, about yesterday," Simona said in a small voice as she approached him. Severus was reading a large book and flinched when he heard her talk. He however, didn't look away from the text.

"What about it?" He said harshly.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I feel so bad about what happened. I hate Sirius and James for what they did to you. I was so scared. I thought they were really going to hurt you. I-I shouldn't have been so childish and I want us to be friends," Simona said quickly and genuinely, she thought Severus would interrupt her again.

"No," Severus replied simply. Simona spluttered.

"I-no what?" Simona asked.

"I don't want to be your friend," Severus replied simply. Simona felt a shooting pain in her heart.

"Why-why not?" She asked quietly.

"Why would I want to be friends with someone like you?" Severus retorted sharply. He snapped his book shut and stood up.

"What-what do you mean by that?" Simona asked, her voice beginning to crack with emotion.

"You're vindictive, needy and selfish. I'm disgusted by you," Severus snarled. Simona winced with the severity of his words.

"I-"

"You're no better than Black or Potter. You purposefully set out to hurt me, and you didn't even have the nerve to see my humiliation come to fruition, instead you caved in like a coward. In a way you're even worse than them. At least they have a reason to hate me. You just wanted to hurt me because everything didn't go your way," Severus spat out. Simona backed away, Severus' anger had always frightened Simona.

"I thought you like-"

"I thought I did. But now I'm glad I've seen the error of my ways. You're weak, haughty and a waste of space."

A small crowd began to gather around Simona and Severus. Simona blinked as she tried to ignore each hate-filled comment being shot at her.

"So why did you-"

"Why did I say those things at the Yule Ball? Someone probably spiked me with Amortentia. I have no idea why, you're the worst kind of person. Do you know that?" Severus growled. Simona felt tears streaming down her face.

"Plus you spend so much time with those idiotic Gryffindors. I think you're turning into one of them, you thought rushing to my side without thinking would have made me go running back to you? You act without thinking it through first."

"I said I'm sorry," Simona cried, trying to ignore the pairs of eyes focused on her.

"Sorry isn't always enough. You made me feel like a fool in front of all those people. You may not have physically done anything, but you set those dogs off. You started it," Severus roared.

"I didn't I-"

"Why can't you just take the hint and leave me alone?"

"Because I can't," Simona replied, her voice becoming small and pathetic.

"Of course you can. Life was so much simpler before you turned up and ruined everything."

"How did I-"

"Because you acted like Lily. You acted like you cared about me, and you pretended to be my friend," Severus said his voice becoming low and dangerous.

"I didn't act-"

"You did, you ran off to those Gryffindors at the drop of a hat. I bet you all had a good laugh on my expense."

"I never did, I was only friends with them because they were never unkind to me like you were," Simona replied, her eyes looking pleadingly to Severus.

"Oh poor orphan Simona. Your life must be so bad… Does that give you the right to shun me whenever you feel like it, or to manipulate others into doing what you want?" Severus asked, his tone full of vehemence.

Simona stood in shock. Severus had never brought up the fact she had no parents. She gritted her teeth, she didn't know whether or not the argument was worth fighting over anymore.

"You have no right to-"

"To what? Upset you? Do you know what you've done to me since you arrived? You've thrown everything stable in my life up into the air. You've ruined everything good in my life."

"I thought we were friends," Simona said quietly.

"So did I. You made me doubt everything. Just go away and leave me alone Simona."

"But I love you," Simona replied, tears now streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Severus laughed humourlessly and shook his head.

"Pathetic. Is that all you can say? You should win an award for your acting skills, because you really had me fooled there,"

"I'm not lying."

"And pray tell, why would I ever love you?" Severus asked, his voice full of malice.

"I don't know,"

"Exactly. I could never love you. I love Lily," Severus replied mockingly. Simona stepped back and stumbled on the grass. She fell and landed on the ground with a loud thud. She gasped in pain and tried to get up.

"Don't even bother getting up Simona, you're surrounded by dirt, you are dirt. Don't waste any more of my time, I don't ever want to see you again," Severus sneered as he marched off.

Simona sobbed whilst she sat on the ground. She felt alone. She no longer had any friends at Hogwarts, apart from Remus. She had alienated the one she loved.

The next couple of weeks were extremely difficult for Simona. No one would talk to her and she couldn't sleep. Her grades started to slip in lessons and she no longer had an appetite. Severus and Lily seemed to be still going strong and only made Simona feel worse. Simona had attempted to approach Severus a number of times with different amounts of desperation but was only violently shunned away.

Feeling completely helpless Simona approached Professor Dumbledore a month later and requested to be transferred to a different Wizarding School immediately. Whilst Professor Dumbledore was originally reluctant to do such a thing he could empathise with Simona's situation. After clearing it with Simona's adopted parents, Professor Slughorn and Professor Giolitti (The headmaster of Simona's new school) they decided to allow Simona to transfer to Italy's only Wizarding School, the very same school her parents had attended.

Simona packed up her things and left the common room without a single goodbye. She left the Great Hall after picking at her breakfast and was escorted out of the Hall by Professor Slughorn, her Head of House. Simona spotted Severus as she walked down the path to the gates of Hogwarts. He looked at her with curiosity and underlying dislike as she walked past. Simona looked at him with longing and exhaustion.

Emerald green eyes bore into black for one last time before Simona disapparated away for good.

AN; That's it, that's yer lot. This journey has been amazing. Please read and review to tell me what you thought about this chapter. Obviously I can't please everyone. There is a sequel coming so don't worry.. I need to come up with a goddamn title . Red Vines and Butterbeer to all who have stuck with me for the past few months. I love you all! xoxo


End file.
